CAIR Joins 70+ Groups in Letter to White House Following Two Weeks of Escalating Israeli Settler Attacks on Palestinians

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today joined more than 70 other local and national organizations in delivering a letter to the Biden administration urging immediate action in response to the past two weeks of escalating Israeli settler attacks that have occurred under the watch of the Israeli army.

Organized by the Texas Arab American Democrats, American Federation of Ramallah Palestine, and Palestinian American Organizations Network, the letter also requests a rapid crisis-response meeting between Biden administration officials and concerned local and national American organizations and organizers to discuss these pressing issues.

Read the Letter: Click Here

The letter states in part:

“During the past two weeks, dozens of Israeli settlers, some of whom may also be American citizens, recently carried out violent attacks on the Palestinian villages of Al-Lubban ash–Sharqiya and Turmusayya in the occupied West Bank.

“These attacks involved the destruction of property, including arson and stone-throwing, resulting in damage to cars, homes, and businesses. Disturbingly, numerous Palestinians sustained injuries from live fire, either from settlers or soldiers. This situation is deeply troubling as it indicates a gross failure on the part of Israeli authorities to protect Palestinian lives and property.

“…many of the Palestinian civilians targeted in the town of Turmus Ayya are American citizens, heightening the urgency of this matter. These incidents bear an uncanny resemblance to wanton violent riots carried out by Israeli settlers targeting local Palestinians in the town of Huwara earlier this year.

The letter also highlights that: “Illinois State Representative Abdelnasser Rashid was also visiting his family with his wife and three children in the West Bank when he stated that his hometown had been targeted by a violent mob. Rashid, who grew up in the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya, located approximately 25 miles north of Jerusalem, expressed his profound disappointment, stating, ‘What was intended to be a vacation turned into an absolute nightmare.’”

For the past week, Israel has also been launching large-scale military campaigns in the Occupied West Bank cities of Jenin, Nablus and other cities, conducting air strikes on buildings, medics, ambulances, journalists, and media centers as armored vehicles advanced through civilian neighborhoods, many innocent people including children and women have been killed.

On Monday, CAIR separately condemned “war crimes” being committed against Palestinian civilians in Jenin refugee camp and called on the United States to take concrete action to stop the Israeli government’s escalating human rights abuses.

The Middle East Eye reports that “Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 163 Palestinians this year, including 27 children” and “A total of 129 fatalities have been recorded in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and a further 34 in the Gaza Strip.”