More than 500 Democratic party staffers and alumni of Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign have signed an open letter calling for the US president to do more to protect Palestinians and hold Israel accountable for its actions in and over Gaza, where a ceasefire currently holds.

The American newspaper Washington Post said that the letter calls on Biden to do more in "protecting the rights of the Palestinians and holding Israel accountable for the disproportionate number of deaths caused by the Israeli forces compared to those caused by the Palestinian militants."

The letter was signed by the employees and organizers who worked at Biden's National Campaign headquarters, on the Democratic National Committee and in 22 states, including the swing states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, among others.

Heba Muhammad, a Palestinian-American employee and director of the Digital Organization of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin during the 2020 session, said in a statement to the "Washington Post" newspaper: "President Biden must do better."

She added, "The ceasefire in the recent bombing campaign is welcome, but the suffering of the Palestinians continues because there has been no end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza, annexation of lands in the occupied West Bank, mass arrests and raids, ethnic cleansing, and illegal occupation."

While the letter praised Biden's recent efforts to broker a ceasefire, the signatories called on the US administration to demand the Israeli government to end settlement expansion in the West Bank, and to join international allies in pressing for an end to Israeli violations of international law and support the Palestinians' right to self-determination.

Matan Arad Niemann, a US-Israeli employee and co-author of the letter who used to work as an organizer in the state of Arizona, condemned the administration for continuing to sell weapons to Israel, referring to the proposed $ 735 million arms sale, which the Biden administration recently approved.

"As an Israeli American I am proud to help elect Biden in Arizona, I am terrified of the daily nightmare of occupation and apartheid," he said.

Nieman added, "The American failure to abide by human rights violations committed by the Israeli government, all while the US administration continues to sell arms to Israel"

253 civilians were killed, including 66 children, 39 women and 17 elderly, and 1948 others were injured in the recent Israeli attack on the Gaza strip, which lasted for 11 days.

Source : Safa