Washington, D.C. | www.mpac.org | May 9, 2025 — The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli government’s decision to expand its military occupation of the Gaza Strip and forcibly displace its population under the guise of “security operations.” This plan, which includes the seizure of Gaza territory, the blocking of humanitarian aid, and the relocation of over 2 million Palestinians, represents a blatant act of ethnic cleansing in violation of international law and basic human morality.
The reported approval by Israeli Cabinet ministers to capture the entirety of Gaza, alongside a full blockade of aid and proposed population transfer, is not a security strategy but a campaign of collective punishment that weaponizes starvation and displacement. The deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure, the denial of food, water, and medicine, and the use of aid as a tool of political coercion reflect a military strategy rooted in ethnic cleansing, not defense.
We are alarmed by reports that the Israeli government, with tacit support from the United States, is engaging in plans that would create conditions tantamount to internment for displaced Palestinians. The use of private security forces to control humanitarian aid, facial recognition to surveil civilians, and the forced movement of populations under fire are hallmarks of authoritarian brutality, not democratic values.
The international community must recognize this for what it is: an unfolding atrocity that echoes the darkest chapters of modern history. The United Nations, the European Union, and all nations committed to human rights must urgently intervene to stop this campaign of mass displacement. The United States, in particular, must withdraw its support for policies that enable these violations and use every diplomatic and financial lever to demand an immediate ceasefire, the restoration of humanitarian aid, and an end to the siege.
We call on the current Administration to reject proposals for “voluntary emigration” that amount to coerced exile, to halt all military assistance used in the furtherance of this war, and to support international accountability mechanisms.
MPAC stands with Palestinians who have endured more than 18 years of blockade and now face annihilation. We demand justice, we demand protection, and we demand an end to the complicity of those who fund, arm, and excuse this brutal assault.
Silence is not neutrality. It is complicity. The time to act is now.