American activists fast in solidarity with Gaza
SANAA, May 29 (YPA) – A number of American activists announced a forty-day fast in solidarity with those forcibly starved in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The protest took place in front of the US Permanent Mission to the United Nations, located directly across from the international organization building.
The group, called “Veterans for Peace,” along with their conscientious allies, decided to consume no more than 250 calories a day, the same amount that reaches 90 percent of Gaza’s population.
In a statement, the group, which has begun spreading across the United States, announced that it had decided to fast because the children of Gaza are dying of hunger every day, and because the Israeli occupation is preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the Strip.
Likewise, “We are declaring a fast because the tax money we pay funds the bombs that Israel uses in its war of extermination on Gaza,” according to the same statement.
Michael Werner, general manager of the Veterans for Peace group, explained: “We are all here because we feel pain over the killing taking place in the Gaza Strip. We will fast for forty days, as we have decided to reduce our daily food intake to 250 calories.”
Werner, who participated in the Vietnam War, continued by saying in a number of press statements that: “This group was founded two months ago, and we are calling for the delivery of humanitarian aid through the United Nations and a halt to the supply of weapons to Israel.”
He continued, “We are now 600 people participating in this activity across the United States and are open to more participation.” Participant Joy Metzler, who identified herself as a “conscientious protester” against her country’s involvement in this war, said, “I left military action because of what is happening in Gaza.”
She emphasized, “What is happening in Gaza goes against everything I learned about ethics and international law at the Air Force Academy, and seeing the depth of my country’s involvement in this war, the war crimes, and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has made me question and doubt everything I learned in the science of war.”
She emphasized, “I am here to join those fasting because I stand for what I believe in and for justice. I do this despite what my country’s government is doing. I hope many people will join us to prove to our government that the American people, for the most part, do not support the war of extermination taking place in Gaza to the world.”
In addition, according to several field media reports, one of the participants said, “The group will draft an official letter and send it to the American mission, in front of whose main entrance they are demonstrating on 45th Street and First Avenue in front of the delegations’ entrance to the UN building.”
It is worth noting that Thursday is the seventh day since the group began its fast, which is working to establish small gatherings in various locations in the United States, and its demands include an end to the war of extermination against the entire besieged Gaza Strip, the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and a halt to the supply of weapons to the occupying state of Israel.