This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I am writing in regards to a recent piece in this publication about Israel's bombing and invasion of Gaza.
U.S. taxpayers fund 20 percent of Israel´s military, providing over $3.1 billion in weapons each year, making U.S. taxpayers deeply complicit in Israel's crimes against Palestinians. The State Department and Congress could immediately end these attacks by suspending military aid to Israel and brokering a lasting cease-fire agreement and an end to Israel's illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip.
There is no excuse for the targeting of civilians on either side. While Hamas's indiscriminate firing of rockets is a violation of international law and to be condemned, Israel is firing U.S.-funded precision weapons against civilians and civilian infrastructure. This flagrant misuse of U.S.-supplied weapons is a clear violation of U.S. laws like the Foreign Assistance Act and Arms Export Control Act.
Through the first 10 days of aerial and naval attacks, Israel had killed at least 222 Palestinians.
According to the United Nations, of the dead, at least 164 (approximately 77 percent) have been civilians, including 44 children and 29 women. At least 25,000 children traumatized by the death or injury of a family member, or loss of a home, require specialized psychosocial (PSS) support. Israel's attacks against Palestinians in Gaza are not narrowly targeted against military targets, but are having devastating impacts on civilians.
Dale Redington
Salt Lake City