Israel abusing U.S. military aid in defiance of the laws of war. Time to cut it off | Opinion

End military aid to Israel

The International Court of Justice ruling, in July, argued that Israel’s continued seizure of the the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) of East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank is illegal and that it must be ended immediately, and that through annexation and permanent control Israel continues to frustrate the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and violates fundamental principles of international law. It stated that Israel should evacuate its settlers and military forces from the OPT and reverse its annexation of Palestinian territory. Additionally, the court asserted that states are obligated not to recognize Israel’s illegal acts, such as annexation, and must refrain from providing aid or assistance that maintains Israel’s illegal presence in the OPT. The UN General Assembly passed a resolution in September, supporting the findings of the ICJ.

In addition to international law, U.S. law also requires us to stop sending military aid to Israel. The Arms Export Control Act, and the Leahy Amendment exist for a reason.

It’s time we follow the law, our morality, and ethics and aid military aid Israel, and other support that prolongs annexation and oppression, as we should to any country committing human rights abuses and war crimes.

Bill Dole, Olympia

Another Trump presidency

My fellow citizens, take a deep breath. Trump won this time through a fair election process, and I am making an effort to come terms with that. What we all need to remember is that we the people still hold the power in this relationship. So if we are ever asked again to “fight like hell” against our laws and the Constitution, we should all stand up for them instead. We should be committed to those doctrines not to a president. Of course, we do need to know the laws and our Constitution, and now would be a great time to review what being a responsible US citizen means. There might be a test.

Diane Carver, Roy

We made a terrible mistake

We, the electorate, are the human resources office for the United States president and vice president. If we look at the resume of one individual we see: four indictments for 91 felony charges with most still pending and in one case making the individual a convicted felon; incitement of an insurrection at our nation’s Capitol and responsible for the multiple deaths that occurred; refusal to accept the results of the election in 2020 ignoring our Constitution; fomenting threats to opposing candidates and supporters; threats to deport individuals by military means; disparaging remarks against countries, individuals and groups of people; lack of recommendations from former associates and outright condemnation from most; repeated and proven dangerous lies; questionable cognitive abilities; association and acceptance of groups and individuals in direct opposition to the Constitution and values of the United States.

With a resume like that why would we even consider this individual for a temporary job let alone an important, vital job of four years leading our country? We the electorate must do the responsible thing and reject this individual.

Thanks to the bravery of those newspapers, including The News Tribune, for publishing their support for Kamala Harris.

Pat Richmond, Tacoma