(WASHINGTON, D.C. 9/16/2019) — Today marks 37 years since Israel shot flares into the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon and orchestrated a three-day massacre that claimed the lives of thousands of mostly Pa
lestinian and Lebanese civilians. While surrounding the camps to prevent any escape, Israeli forces illuminated the dark and narrow alleyways for a right-wing Lebanese Christian Phalangist militia to carry out the rape, murder, and mutilation of between 1,300 and 3,500 people. Through proxies, then-defense minister Ariel Sharon fulfilled his promise to U.S. special envoy Morris Draper that, “[Israel] will kill them. They will not be left there. You are not going to save them,” despite an earlier pledge by the U.S. to protect the inhabitants of the camps.
As we continue to mourn the victims of this notorious war crime, we recognize this incident as part of Israel’s long, violent history that predates its creation, and whose racist foundations are built on ethnic cleansing, theft, and dispossession. The massacre of Sabra and Shatila is equally symbolic in revealing the extent of collusion between Israel and the U.S., whose biased foreign policy has repeatedly failed the Palestinian people, destabilized the entire Middle East, and continues to enable Israel's ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and theft of their land.
Nearly four decades later, evidence emerged last year revealing the extent of Israel’s war crimes in Lebanon, as well as the U.S.’s complicity in this notorious massacre. While Phalangist militias were committing mass murder of Palestinians, U.S. officials allowed Sharon to dictate the terms and liquidate the PLO from Lebanon. Today, the U.S. continues on this shameful and destructive path allowing Netanyahu to liquidate the Palestinian cause altogether and effectively green-lighting Israel's plans to annex the West Bank and Jordan Valley.
Still, we recognize the perseverance of Palestinian refugees who continue to endure and resist despite all odds.
From Lebanon to Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem, and to all of historical Palestine, American Muslims for Palestine calls upon the global community to demand justice for all victims of Israeli brutality and crimes against humanity. AMP further demands that the U.S stops its role as enabler of Israeli crimes, ends its unconditional diplomatic, political, and financial support of Israel, and finally adopts a just and fair approach to the conflict.
To honor the victims of Sabra and Shatila, as well as all those who are suffering today under Israeli occupation, learn more about the massacre and educate a friend.
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American Muslims for Palestine
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