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8/19 Petition to Biden & U.S. Congress

Yesterday, 8/18, another journalist in Gaza was attacked while on the job. While covering Israel’s brutal ground invasion of Khan Younis, Salma al-Qadoumi was shot in the back. Israeli forces fired directly on Salma and her colleagues who were clearly marked as press. She was rushed to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, and her current condition isn’t known.

Pre 10/7, Gaza was already one of the most densely populated places in the world with over 2 million people living in an area only 141 square miles, which is approximately the size of Philadelphia or Detroit. Now, the refugees who’ve survived Israel’s genocide so far only have approximately 11% of the area that have been designated as “evacuation safe zones”. That’s 15.51 square miles. For comparison, D.C. is 61.1 square miles and has a population of approximately 689,000. That’s about 11,276 people per square mile, where Gaza is 128,949 people per square mile. Imagine that there are now 1,043.57% more people in D.C. Would the infrastructure be able to handle that even in the most perfect conditions? No – it would be impossible. Now think about the situation in Gaza where there is little to no remaining infrastructure. What do you think the lives of refugees look like?

I demand that you: 

– Hold Israel accountable for a permanent, immediate ceasefire, their violations of the Genocide Convention, and gross human rights violations by any means necessary

– Call for the immediate end of Israel’s occupation and apartheid and support Palestinians in their fight for freedom and peace

– Secure the immediate release and safety of all Palestinians who have been abducted and held captive by Israel, including those whose indefinite detention began prior to 10/7

– Permanently end all monetary, diplomatic, and military aid given to Israel and enforce Leahy Law

– Reallocate all funds given to Israel and commit additional resources for ongoing humanitarian relief for Palestinians starting with immediately resuming funding of UNRWA

– Immediately withdraw all U.S. troops, military assets, and all other assets deployed throughout the Middle East and cease all actions that further escalate a larger regional conflict

– Pass legislation that voids all anti-BDS laws at the federal level

– Vote no on H.R. 7521 and any similar legislation proposed

SOURCES

Al Jazeera 8/19 Live Updates

AA “Israeli army wounds Palestinian journalist covering aggression in Khan Younis“

The Palestine Chronicle “‘Chaos and Fear’ – Israel Shrinks ‘Humanitarian Zone’ to 11 Percent of Gaza“

Wikipedia “Gaza Strip”

Anera “How Big is Gaza?“

United States Census Bureau “District of Columbia“

Women In Journalism “Gaza: Women Press Freedom Condemns Israeli Military’s Assault on Palestinian Journalist Salma al-Qadoumi“

How did you come up with these figures?

Using the numbers in the sources cited above, I used simple ratios, and a Percentage Increase Calculator to come up with the figures in this letter.

!! CONTENT WARNING !!

Telegram* sources may contain graphic content, viewer discretion is advised.

*Why are you citing reports shared on Telegram?

While Telegram channels on their own are not necessarily credible news reporting, I have found the work Praxis Redacted has done consolidating both official news sources and unofficial citizen reporting (before it becomes breaking news) to be credible, accurate, and substantiated hours or sometimes days later by mainstream news.

Since mid-October when I began following the news about the genocide (and Praxis Redacted), I have not found an incident where sources cited or descriptions used were later proved to be false. I have every reason to believe the events cited below are true.

Most Telegram posts I link will be from Praxis Redacted, but those that are not will be labeled. All of the same disclaimers apply for content warnings and my belief in the credibility of the channels cited. This is a saved text template used across posts, it’s possible no sources outside of Praxis Redacted will be used or that only other channels are cited in this petition. It is also possible that other social media posts will be cited from other platforms, and if so, they will be noted.

AA X Post 8/18 video of Salma being rushed to the hospital