Iraq Veterans Against the War Statement on Gaza

Over the last three weeks, we at Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) have watched with dread the endless bombing of Gaza, leading to the senseless killing of now more than 1,300 Palestinians and the destruction of their homes, lives and livelihoods.

In the past we have announced our support of the right to self-determination for Palestinians, alongside our firm conviction of the illegality and dehumanizing nature of the blockade of Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank. This moment is no different.

The US government has continually provided arms and money to Israel to the tune of $3.1 billion per year.  It is our own country’s weaponry that is causing the deaths of entire families in Gaza. We see it as our duty to resist the steady grinding militarization of our foreign and domestic policies and we stand in solidarity with those resisting the same efforts overseas, both the Palestinian people and the Israeli reservists who have refused to serve in this conflict.

We are an organization made up of veterans who are intimately familiar with neocolonial missions and who carried out the day-to-day operations that enabled the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. As such, we can’t help but see Israel’s continued violation of basic human rights of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza as anything but the actions of a country engaged in the oppression of a colonized people.

Iraq Veterans Against the War firmly denounces the disproportionate violence that Israel has waged on the people of Gaza and supports an immediate and enduring cease-fire with the removal of occupying Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. Additionally we support a lifting of the unilateral and illegal embargo of the Gaza Strip.

We also call for the United States government to immediately cease providing political cover and material support for Israel. This means the ending of military aid and an embargo on arms shipments. The United States should no longer support a country engaging in serious war crimes and violations of international law by collectively punishing Gazans for the decisions of their leaders.