Washington, DC - Americans for Peace Now (APN) today called on the Obama Administration to act quickly and resolutely to prevent an escalation of tensions and military action on the Israel-Lebanon border and between Israel and Gaza.APN President and CEO Debra DeLee commented:
"This morning's violent clashes on the Israel-Lebanon border come close on the heels a recent uptick in rocket fire from Gaza and retaliatory air strikes by Israel. With both of these fronts heating up, the situation is painfully reminiscent of the period that led to Israel's military engagements in both Lebanon and Gaza in 2006. At that time, the Bush Administration chose to sit on the sidelines, viewing the dual crises as a "moment of opportunity" to change the Middle East landscape. In doing so, it deliberately allowed fighting to careen out of control into full-scale war, to the detriment of the thousands of Lebanese, Palestinians, and Israelis killed and injured in the conflict.
"The Obama Administration must not repeat this fateful mistake. Now is the time for urgent, resolute engagement to prevent an escalation of hostilities on both fronts, bringing to bear the full force of US influence on all parties involved, and pressing US allies in the region and around the world to do the same.
"Israel has a right to defend its territory and citizens. While it is not yet clear what precisely happened on the Israel-Lebanon border this morning, and debate is ongoing over who in Gaza is responsible for the firing of rockets into Israel in recent days, it is absolutely clear that the potential for a tragic and devastating escalation on both fronts is very real. It is equally clear that if this escalation occurs, it will be civilians on all sides who will once again pay the price, and that the stability of the entire region will be at risk.
"Since taking office, the Obama Administration has made Middle East peace one of its top foreign policy priorities. Now it must recognize that Middle East peace is not only a matter of pushing Israelis and Palestinians to the negotiating table. The Obama Administration must recognize the potential for fighting on both of these fronts to escalate into something much bigger and more dangerous - with the very real possibility of clashes spreading to involve Syria and the of Iran using its influence to escalate things further. Such a situation would have devastating effects not only on efforts to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace, but on the full range of US interests in the region and beyond.
"Finally, another stark similarity today to 2006 is the absence of sufficient, or in some cases, any US communication channels to key players in the region. It is critical today of all days that the US be able to engage intensively with Syria and Lebanon. Unfortunately, the Obama Administration's nominees for US Ambassador to Damascus and Beirut have yet to be confirmed by the Senate. In addition, the Obama Administration has continued the Bush Administration's policy of refusing to communicate, directly or indirectly, with Hamas and Hezbollah. As we suggested in 2006, the US may need to reconsider this policy, or at a minimum, work to set up channels using Arab and European allies as intermediaries - not as a reward for terror but as responsible policy to protect vital U.S. national security interests."
APN is America's leading Jewish organization advocating for Israeli security through peace.
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Your above letter states " "Israel has a right to defend its territory and citizens. While it is not yet clear what precisely happened on the Israel-Lebanon border this morning, and debate is ongoing over who in Gaza is responsible for the firing of rockets into Israel in recent days.."
Why is it that we never hear or even told that the Palestinians have a right to defend themselves or that the Lebanese have a right to defend themselves? Why is always "Israel has a right to defend themselves" when in most cases it's the Israelis who do the provocation? In your statement as to who in Gaza was responsible for the recent rocket fire, why wasn't the attacks made by Israel where one Palestinian was killed, just a few days before the rocket fire? Let me read you the report: "In the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian civilian was shot and seriously wounded by Israeli forces while on a tract of land belonging to his grandfather. At approximately 06:30 on Friday July 23rd, Israeli troops stationed at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip fired at Akram Tayseer Sa'ada, 19, from Beit Hanoun, when he was on a tract of land belonging to his grandfather, nearly 150 meters away from the crossing. He was seriously wounded by a bullet to the chest.
On Monday morning, 26 July 2010, Israeli warplanes bombarded tunnels along the Egyptian border, south of Rafah. They also bombarded and destroyed a plastic and iron pipe store in the central Gaza Strip. No casualties were reported. http://www.israel-palestinenews.org/2010/07/weekly-report-1-worker-killed-4.html
When rocket fire, doing no damage or injuries, comes from Gaza why isn't this considered retailation for what Israel did just a few days earlier as I mentioned above? Why is it that only Israeli fire is considered retaliation while rockets coming out of Gaza are considered terrorist acts? Why is Israel treated always as the victim and the Palestinians as the terrorists when it's Israel that is occupying Palestinian land and blocading Gaza?