The vicious and criminal nature of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government was on full display yesterday. He hold his cabinet "We are being asked to ease the living conditions of the population and allow goods and equipment in, but we have other priorities in the Gaza Strip."

This statement came as United Nations investigators were about to enter Gaza to carry out an investigation - with which the Israeli government refuses to cooperate - into Israeli violations of international law.

People of conscience must act now! We are building a movement in solidarity with the people of Gaza. We can't do it without your help. Please make an urgently needed donation.

Just last week, the United Nations - under the headline "Health Conditions Worsening in Gaza" - reported that 30 percent of children below 36 months and 50 percent of pregnant women are now anemic as a result of the complete blockade of petrol and diesel importations, and the importation of "only very limited amounts" of cooking gas since the beginning of November.

This report also stated that "... some 4,000 medical items per day on average could cross into Gaza before the conflict, whereas only 40 items are currently allowed to be imported daily. ... restrictions on building supplies have resulted in damaged health care centres being left in a state of disrepair and a scarcity of paper has led to difficulties in keeping medical records."

This is a direct result of the ongoing U.S.-backed Israeli siege.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is now reporting that, as a consequence of expanded need and a budget "shortfall," they will be reducing already inadquate services, including closing hospitals. This announcement came just one week after the deaths of one-year-old Odai Samir Abu Azzoum and 10-year-old Ribhi Jindiyeh, among many others, in Gaza due to lack of medical supplies and services.

The people of the United States must act to demand that the U.S.-backed Israeli siege of Gaza must end immediately! Please make a donation today.

People from across the East Coast, Midwest and South are making plans to be in D.C. on Saturday, June 6 - the 42nd anniversary of Israel's seizure of Gaza - to stand in solidarity with those still suffering in Gaza and demand an end to the siege. Demonstrations will also take place in California and in other states. We will also stand for all Palestinian people's inalienable right to return to their homes from which they were evicted.
PLEASE NOTE: The June 6th Gaza Solidarity Day activity is being moved to the Israeli Embassy at 3514 International Dr NW. People are asked to gather there at 12 noon (rather than at Freedom Plaza).

The sponsoring organizations, including the ANSWER Coalition, have decided to change the location for the demonstration because June 6 is the 42nd anniversary of the seizure of Gaza and other Arab land by the Israeli state. The new Israeli government, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, while in Washington, D.C. for meetings, made it clear that his government intends to expand the Israeli settlements throughout the West Bank and just stated explicitly that it will not end, or even ease, the siege. On June 6, worldwide attention will be focused on the efforts of international activists who will be leading humanitarian convoys into Gaza with humanitarian relief. The Israeli government has turned its back on all of the worldwide voices who are demanding an immediate end to the siege of Gaza. The Israeli government is forcing the people of Gaza into perpetual homelessness following the aerial destruction of their homes and neighborhoods in the war of aggression that was launched on December 27, 2008. They are deliberately depriving the civilians population of food, medicine, building supplies and energy resources - all the things necessary to sustain life.

The Israeli Embassy is located at the intersection of International Dr. and Van Ness St., one block from Connecticut Ave. (red line metro to the Van Ness-UDC).


Providing transportation, printing posters and leaflets, and renting sound and stage all costs a great deal. Please do your part today by clicking this link to make a generous online donation, where you can also find out how to contribute by check.

Sponsoring organizations for the June 6 Gaza Solidarity Day include ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism), Muslim American Society (MAS) Freedom, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), National Council of Arab Americans (NCA), Al-Awda - the Palestine Right to Return Coalition and more!

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Contact us at (202) 265-1948 or dc-AT-answercoalition.org to get involved!