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Ilhan Omar Leads Global Call by Over 400 Parliamentarians for Gaza Ceasefire

The statement was signed by a group of lawmakers hailing from every continent.

Rep. Ilhan Omar conducts a television interview in the U.S. Capitol on February 7, 2023.

Hundreds of parliamentarians representing governments across the globe have signed a statement issuing a call for a ceasefire in Gaza, with the effort led by German lawmaker Sevin Dağdelen and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) and signed by several other U.S. House lawmakers.

The statement has been signed by a group of lawmakers from countries hailing from every continent, with over 450 parliamentarians joining the call and more signing on as the statement was circulated. Lawmakers are calling on their governments to join their campaign.

“We join together to call for an immediate, multilateral ceasefire in Israel and Palestine, the release of all the remaining Israeli and international hostages, and the facilitation of humanitarian aid entry into Gaza,” the short statement reads.

“We further urge our own respective governments and the international community to uphold international law and seek accountability for grave violations of human rights,” lawmakers continued.

Democratic Representatives Jamaal Bowman (New York), Cori Bush (Missouri), André Carson (Indiana), Greg Casar (Texas), Jesús García (Illinois), Hank Johnson (Georgia), Summer Lee (Pennsylvania), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York), Ayanna Pressley (Massachusetts), Nydia Velázquez (New York) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (New Jersey) were the U.S. signatories to the statement. Many of these lawmakers have also cosponsored ceasefire legislation led by Bush in October.

Other signatories include lawmakers from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.K.

The letter was first reported as South Africa was arguing before the International Court of Justice, presenting their case that Israel is engaged in a genocide in Gaza. South African lawyers laid out a host of evidence, including footage of Israeli attacks and Israeli officials’ own words, and have asked for an emergency order for Israel to stop the genocide.

So far, Israel’s assault of Gaza has killed over 23,000 Palestinians. This amounts to 1 percent of the population of Gaza before the assault.

“We can hold two things in our heads at once: that the attacks by Hamas on October 7 were a war crime, and that Israel has responded by committing crimes against humanity — crimes that the United States, and much of the West continue to let happen, despite our professed support for international law,” Omar told The Guardian.

“I am proud to lead this international effort to demand an end to this violence, to demand a release of the hostages who have now suffered for 133 days, and to condemn all violations of international law in this conflict,” she continued.

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