US Branch of Amnesty Int'l Calls on Rice to Drop 'Lopsided' Stance

[babylonsister]

US Branch of Amnesty Calls on Rice to Drop 'Lopsided' Stance

by Jim Lobe


WASHINGTON - The U.S. section of Amnesty International sent an "urgent" letter Friday to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, calling on her to end what it called Washington's "lopsided response" to the ongoing Israeli air strikes on Gaza that have reportedly killed more than 400 Palestinians, including scores of unarmed civilians.


People demonstrate against Israeli air strikes on Gaza strip during a protest in Prague. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday she has no plans to visit the Middle East, as protests stepped up in major capitals and artists urged Barack Obama to speak out against Israel. (AFP/Milan Jaros)

While the letter also expressed concern about the rocket fire by Palestinian groups that has taken four Israeli lives in urban areas more than 30 kilometres from Gaza during the past week, it called Israel's campaign air campaign "disproportionate" and accused the Jewish state of violating international law.

"Without diminishing the responsibility of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups for indiscriminate and deliberate attacks on Israeli civilians, the U.S. government must not ignore Israel's disproportionate response and the longstanding policies which have brought the Gaza Strip to the brink of humanitarian disaster," the letter declared.

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http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/01/03