NAACP asks Biden to halt weapons to Israel

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in the US has called on President Joe Biden to halt the provision of all weapons to Israel and pressure it to end the Gaza war.

According to a statement shared with Reuters, the message by the 115-year-old US civil rights group is a reminder to Biden that his administration’s support for Israel could have an impact on Black voters in the November election.

"The NAACP calls on President Biden to draw the red line and indefinitely end the shipment of all weapons and artillery to the state of Israel and other states that supply weapons to Hamas and other terrorist organisations. It is imperative that the violence that has claimed so many civilian lives, immediately stop," the statement said.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson told Reuters that the organisation’s decision to speak out was “driven in part by young Black Americans horrified by the images of dead Palestinian civilians on their smartphones”.

"It's raising a lot of questions around why our tax dollars are being used to harm civilians," Johnson said.