Israel’s latest assault Tuesday on the Gaza Strip, the boxed-in sliver of land termed the world’s largest open-air prison that houses nearly 2 million Palestinians, drew condemnation from peace advocates around the world.
“In the U.S., we must not just watch, yet again, as Israel’s massive military dominates and destroys Palestinian lives and livelihoods in Gaza,” said Rabbi Alissa Wise, acting co-executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, in a statement.
The latest flare of violence began after Israel undertook an extrajudicial assassination attempt against a leader of the militant group Islamic Jihad Tuesday morning, killing commander Baha Abu al-Ata, 42, and his wife. Their two children were wounded, according to The Guardian.
The assassination was reportedly authorized directly by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Attacks on the strip continued through Tuesday as Gazans fired rockets back at the occupying forces.
In her statement, Wise said the conflict needed to be understood in its proper context.
“I balk at calling Israel’s extrajudicial assassination of an Islamic Jihad leader and his family an ‘escalation of violence’—given Israel’s daily torture and torment of Palestinians in Gaza,” said Wise. “The illegal blockade of Gaza by Israel imprisons every aspect of life for Palestinians in Gaza, and the inhumane restrictions on food, electricity, and healthcare are all forms of violence, carried out daily for the past 11 years by Israel.”
Wise accused Netanyahu of ordering the attacks in Gaza as a way to boost his fragile political standing in Israel.
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