CAIR demands Biden to 'stop enabling' Israeli attack on Al Mawasi 'safe zone'

Leading US Muslim civil rights group Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released a statement Saturday, in response to an Israeli strike on a displacement camp that killed 71 Palestinians in Gaza’s Al Mawasi area. 

The latest mass-casualty strike also saw 289 Palestinians wounded in what Gaza’s health authorities have since called a "brutal massacre by the occupation". 

CAIR commented on the attack, as global outrage over the war's civilian toll intensifies. 

The rights group also condemned the Biden administration’s continued support for Israel’s military conduct and demanded the government to initiate stricter actions. 

In a statement, Nihad Awad, the National Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), criticised the Israeli far-right government for committing mass killings of Palestinians, relying on the assurance that it will receive support and justification from the Biden administration.  

"President Biden’s continuing support for and silence about the genocide gives a green light for more Israeli abuses and war crimes," Awad said. 

"Biden must stop enabling these daily massacres and end our nation’s complicity in genocide. Administration officials must begin to treat Palestinians as human beings worthy of life, dignity and justice, not as animals only fit for slaughter."

Awad also highlighted that the flow of American weapons and taxpayer funds to Israel continues unabated. 

“Israel’s far-right government carries out this mass slaughter of Palestinians secure in the knowledge that it will be supported and excused by the Biden administration and that American bombs and taxpayer funds will continue to flow." @NihadAwad #GazaGenocide‌ #Israel https://t.co/x4qTlShKBJ

— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) July 13, 2024

This comes as CAIR recently criticised the reported decision by the Biden administration to supply Israel with 500-pound bombs for use in Gaza, which had previously been withheld. 

President Biden stood firm on his decision to hold up delivery of massive 2,000-pound bombs, even as his administration moves forward on other munitions. 

On Friday, the civil rights group also denounced the Israeli strike on an aid distribution point in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, that led to the killing of aid workers from the UK based charity Al Khair Foundation. 

On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced that US mediators were making progress towards negotiating a ceasefire in Gaza, as he called for an end to the conflict in the Palestinian territory.

During a high-stakes, nearly hour-long news conference, Biden aimed to address scepticism about his re-election campaign and acknowledged concerns about Israeli actions, despite his general support for the US ally.

"There's a lot of things in retrospect I wish I had been able to convince the Israelis to do, but the bottom line is we have a chance now. It's time to end this war," he said after a NATO summit in Washington. 

Over a month ago, Biden proposed a plan in which Israel would temporarily halt its offensive in Gaza, and Palestinian groups would release captives, paving the way for negotiations to permanently end the devastating nine-month war.

He has also urged Israel to develop a "day-after" plan for the end of the conflict and discussed his diplomatic efforts to enlist Arab states in helping to ensure security in the region.

Biden threw his support behind Israel after the October 7 attack by Hamas which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, according to Israeli figures. 

The ongoing Israeli military offensive has resulted in at least 38,443 deaths in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from Gaza’s health ministry.