Sooners for Peace in Palestine led a peaceful demonstration Monday morning to raise awareness of the less peaceful state in Gaza.

Students waited in line in front of Bizzell Memorial Library to sign a petition urging the U.S. Senate to consider more humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Sooners for Peace in Palestine organized the demonstration to get as many student signatures as possible on a petition to Oklahoma senators about humanitarian issues in Gaza and Palestine, said Bekah Stone, Sooners for Peace in Palestine and international and area studies junior.

The purpose of the petition is to make United States law makers more aware of the crisis in Gaza and to bring it to the public’s attention, Stone said.

“I feel that we have a very biased perspective, considering the conservative state that we are,” she said. “So what we’re doing is offering letters and petitions to our senators asking for a more even-handed approach for foreign policy in Palestine and Israel and for humanitarian aid for the people in Gaza.”

Israel launched a three-week assault against Gaza in late December, aimed at stopping years of Hamas rocket fire into southern Israel. Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, is the militant, Palestinian rulers of the Gaza Strip. The fighting killed nearly 1,300 Palestinians, Gaza officials say, and 13 Israelis.

A cease-fire went into effect two weeks ago but has since been tested by sporadic Palestinian shelling and retaliatory Israeli airstrikes. Hamas has claimed victory simply by surviving.

In letters to U.S. senators Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, the group urged the senators to pursue a more active approach to resolving the conflict in Palestine and Gaza.

Stone said she and other supporters organized Sooners for Peace in Palestine because of the suffering in Gaza and Palestine.

“If people are suffering you should do something about it, she said. “The suffering of these people is the same as my brothers or sisters dying.”

Stone and her supporters said they realize they might not see a direct impact, but are still optimistic.

Lauren Twist, international and areas studies sophomore and Sooners for Peace and Palestine member, said she wants widespread support and wants to spread awareness of the struggles in Gaza.

“We’re are submitting two letters to two senators asking for more support and funding for Gaza,” Twist said. “I am optimistic that this letter will pass because politics in the U.S. has shown us so far that if constituents act out, then the congressmen will listen.”

Mounes Habj-Bik, Students for Peace in Palestine member and zoology senior, said he supports the petition because he feels there are no human rights in place in Gaza.

“I’m not asking for America to go in there to rescue Gaza from Israel,” he said. “But I’m asking them to give more human aid and support their basic needs.”

Misheala Giddings, President of Sooners for Israel and International and Area Studies sophomore, had a slightly different view of the Gaza demonstration.

“The demonstration presented a very one-sided view of why there is a problem in Gaza, Giddings said. “I did, however, encourage my members to sign the petition because we approved of the language.”

She said the flyers that were handed out by Sooners for Peace in Palestine didn’t address the involvement of Hamas or Arab nations, particularly Egypt, which she said should also be held responsible for the lack of aid flowing to Gaza.

The demonstration was held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A panel discussion about the issues in Gaza will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday in Meachum Auditorium and will include a visiting professor from Israel.

—The Associated Press contributed to this report