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heaven forbid: Rights group Amnesty International says U.S. response to Gaza 'lopsided'
Human rights group Amnesty International on Friday accused the United States of having a "lopsided" response to the crisis
"Amnesty International USA is particularly dismayed at the lopsided response by the U.S. government to the recent violence and its lackadaisical efforts to ameliorate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza," the group told Rice in the letter, which was released to the media by Amnesty. Amnesty said it was also deeply concerned by weaponry and military equipment supplied to Israel by Washington that the group said had been used in recent strikes on densely populated residential areas in Gaza. "The United States must suspend the transfer of weapons to Israel immediately and conduct an investigation into whether U.S. weapons were used to commit human rights abuses," said Amnesty.
The United Nations estimates that Israel dropped a few million cluster bombs on Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands of those bomblets failed to explode and have continued to maim and kill after that war's end. Amnesty also urged the United States to put pressure on Israel to open border crossings into Gaza to human rights workers and journalists and to allow humanitarian aid through. A U.S. State Department official rejected claims that the U.S. response had been pro-Israeli or lopsided. Asked about claims Israel was using disproportionate force, he said: "The use of force is based on military objectives. Israel has never claimed that this is vengeance. They are looking to end Hamas' ability to attack Israel." Posted by: 3dc 2009-01-02 |
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