The killing of two Palestinian Teenagers in the occupied West Bank should shock the conscience of the world. On September 2, Israeli Soldiers reportedly killed two young Palestinians, ages 16 and 19, during an incident involving Israeli Settlers and Army Forces in the village of al-Mughayyir.
These were not statistics. They were young Human Beings whose Lives were brutally cut short. Their deaths are another horrifying reminder of the fear, insecurity and violence Palestinians endure under occupation.
Even more alarming is the reported effort by Israeli officials to obtain the support of Donald Trump for a plan that could forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has reportedly described such displacement as “migration.”
Let us be absolutely clear: Forced Expulsion is not Migration. It is the coercive removal of a People from their Homeland. Palestinians must not be driven, pressured or coerced into surrendering their Homes, Communities and Homeland.
The time for vague statements and diplomatic evasions is over.
President Donald Trump must publicly and unequivocally reject any plan to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza. He must make clear that the United States will not finance, facilitate, arm, endorse or provide diplomatic cover for the permanent displacement of Palestinians.
Congress must act as well. Members of Congress must demand full disclosure of any U.S. involvement in plans for Palestinian displacement and exercise its constitutional authority to prevent American Taxpayer Dollars, Weapons and Diplomatic Power from being used to facilitate forced expulsion.
America cannot proclaim its commitment to Human Rights while tolerating the forced removal of an entire People from their Homeland.
Silence is not neutrality. Silence in the face of forced expulsion risks becoming complicity.
This is a defining moment for the United States. President Donald Trump and Congress must choose whether America will defend Human Rights and International Law—or stand by while Palestinians are pressured to abandon their Homeland.
There must be no forced expulsion, no coerced “migration,” no permanent displacement and no American complicity.
President Donald Trump must reject it. Congress must stop it. The United States must not enable it.
Forced Expulsion of Palestinians must end.