Human rights group Amnesty International today accused the United States of having a "lopsided" response to the crisis in Gaza, Reuters reported. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Amnesty's U.S. branch said the U.S. administration must not ignore Israel's "disproportionate response" against Gaza and policies the group said had brought Hamas-ruled Gaza to the brink of "humanitarian disaster." "Amnesty International USA is particularly dismayed at the lopsided response by the U.S. administration to the recent violence and its lackadaisical efforts to ameliorate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza," the group told Rice in the letter, which was released to the media by Amnesty. Amnesty said it was also deeply concerned by weaponry and military equipment supplied to Israel by Washington that the group said had been used in recent strikes on densely populated residential areas in Gaza. "The United States must suspend the transfer of weapons to Israel immediately and conduct an investigation into whether U.S. weapons were used to commit human rights abuses," said Amnesty. Amnesty also urged the United States to put pressure on Israel to open up border crossings into Gaza to human rights workers and journalists and to allow humanitarian aid through.
