End Israeli Attacks on Lebanon Now!

We the undersigned, are deeply alarmed by the escalating human and physical casualties resulting of the war waged by the State Israel on the sovereign State of Lebanon on July 12, 2006. This war was waged in response to Hezbollah's capturing of two Israeli soldiers on the same date. The war has resulted in the indiscriminate killing of hundreds of Lebanese civilians, including women and children, and the complete destruction of Lebanese infrastructure. We strongly believe that this war is unjust and that Israel is in breach of International Law. We appeal to you, to the American Congress and to the American People to call upon Israel to put an end to such tragedy.

Israel is in breach of Article 51 of the UN Charter, which allows the use of force by Member States only in the presence of an armed attack that requires an act of self-defense. Customary Law (a subsidiary of International Law) in the Carolina case of 1873 defined the armed attacks, in response to which self-defense or preemptive self-defense is justified, as attacks that invoke Necessity and Proportionality. Necessity was further defined as "instant, overwhelming and leaving no choice or means and no moment of deliberation" and proportionality as "the force used be no more than necessary to meet the threat presented".

We strongly believe that the use of force in response to the capturing of the two Israeli soldiers did not represent a necessicity and the destruction of infrastructure and killing of civilians was by no means proportionate to the threat Hezbollah caused to Israel. We are fully aware that the acts undertaken by Israel are acts of reprisals, prohibited under International Law, and not acts of self-defense.

Furthermore, we emphasize that Israel is in violation of Chapter VII of the UN Charter, whereby actions that constitute threat to the peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression are to be determined by the Security Council and after satisfying measures short of the use of force mentioned in articles 39-41, the Security Council, under article 42, may authorize member states to resort to the use of force against the convicted state. Israel did not consult with UN SC in defining whether Hizbollah's acts were acts of aggression; it did not use measures short of use of force mentioned in articles 39-41, which include imposing multilateral sanctions, embargoes, etc before it resorts to the use of force; and it decided to react unilaterally in attacking Lebanon.

We consider that Israel did not respect the sovereignty of the State of Lebanon nor the statement it had issued on July 12, declaring that it was not aware of the incident, that it did not take responsibility for it, and did not endorse what had happened. With this we believe Israel further violated International Law by defying the Jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Nicaragua versus the United States Case of 1986, whereby the ICJ concluded that "a state is responsible for the activities of non-state actors in its territory if that state maintained effective control over the non state actors" and ruled that "the US to have helped finance, organize, equip and train the Contras, this level of involvement did not warrant(s) the conclusion that these forces [were] subject to the United States to such an extent that any acts they have committed are imputable to the state." Hence, the State of Lebanon, who simply tolerated and not trained, financed or equipped Hizbollah, should not remain subject to Israel's attacks.

Finally, we are convinced that Israel is in complete violation of the Geneva Conventions and the additional Protocols on the Law of War. Israel is claiming to bomb Hizbollah's Stronghold only. In reality Israel has been using widespread area bombings in the South of Lebanon, along with the use of indiscriminatory bombs that target civilians, which leaves it in full breach of Geneva Convention Protocol I. Israel is also violating Geneva Convention IV and Protocol I by not protecting civilians under war and destroying their infrastructure (including houses, bridges, power stations, gas stations, marine ports and airports) without necessity. The sea, air and land blockade and the bombing of infrastructure,which have prohibited Humanitarian Organization from delivering aid to the civilians in need, further constitutes a breach to the Geneva Convention IV. Israel is using phosphorous based chemical weapons, while these are banned under the 1925 Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare.

History has taught us that violence breeds nothing but more violence. Israel's attacks on Lebanon will not help it defend its interests but will breed more violence not only towards Israel but towards its supporters. The so-called democracy that Israel is trying to promote in Lebanon cannot be brought about by violence and by bombing what an entire nation has been spending years trying to rebuild.

We strongly trust in the role that the American people (represented in the American Congress)can play in bringing the major recipient of U.S Aid, (receiving annually an average of $ 3 Billion), to listen to the call of the International Community.

We thank you for attending the rally organized by the Arab American Institute in Chicago on July 19, 2006 and for listening to the voices of the many Americans who are against the Israeli agression in Lebanon.

We were deeply alarmed by the U.S veto of the Security Council draft resolution on July 13, 2006 condemning Israel's military assault on the Gaza strip and calling for the release of the Israeli prisoner in Gaza. This is the 33rd United Nations Security Council Resolution that was critical of Israel, which the United States has vetoed. We hope that Lebanon will not be resolution 34.

We therefore strongly designate you to speak up in our names to the United States Congress and to the people of the United States to call upon the Israel to:

1) Respect the value of human life

2) Abide by International Law and International Human Rights Law stipulations

3) Respect the Sovereignty of the State of Lebanon

4) Accept the ceasefire in Lebanon NOW!

5) End the sea, air and land blockade on Lebanon

6) Allow for humanitarian organization to deliver their relief aid to the areas in need in Lebanon

Thank you for your support,

The undersigned,