Thousands of Americans have signed a petition through the US Congress official website to call on the administration of President Donald Trump to support the Palestinian health sector in its fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Pro-Palestinian activists and Palestinian organizations in the United States have launched a campaign a few days ago.
The Story Without #Palestine is Incomplete: An Urgent Call for Support from #PalestineChronicle Editors https://t.co/0GKrDOoxic via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/tmZW4pDGvJ
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) April 1, 2020
Their aim is to collect 10,000 signatures to release previously approved $75 million in medical aid that was allocated by Congress for the fiscal year 2020 and which the US administration refuses to release.
#Irish Lawmaker Denounces #Israeli #Siege, #Occupation with #Coronavirus Pandemic https://t.co/tzd4U9XYkS via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/XIMOsZifOo
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) April 2, 2020
The petition calls on the American administration to reconsider its policies related to stopping all aid to the Palestinians as well as its contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
“The campaign aims to collect 10,000 signatures on the petition in order to move to the second phase, which has already started by working with members of Congress who support the Palestinian rights to get a legislative position,” Sinan Shaqdeh, one of the campaigners, told WAFA.
Democratic senators ask Pompeo to provide coronavirus aid to Palestinian Territories https://t.co/0HjEsLOYzf pic.twitter.com/slxK2vSe8P
— The Hill (@thehill) March 30, 2020
Shaqdeh added there are contacts with US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to lead this effort in Congress.
On March 30, a group of Democratic senators led by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to ensure the Gaza Strip and the West Bank receive any necessary aid to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
(Palestine Chronicle, WAFA, Social Media)
