CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE
Dec. 29, 2008 – 1:22 p.m.
White House, Hill Leaders Say Hamas Must Stop Rocket Attacks
The White House and congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle rallied to Israel’s cause Monday as it pressed forward with large-scale air attacks against Islamic militants in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli offensive began on Dec. 27 after gunmen of the ruling Hamas party fired hundreds of rockets into Israel following the Dec. 19 end of a six-month truce.
“In order for the violence to stop, Hamas must stop firing rockets into Israel and agree to respect a sustainable and durable ceasefire,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Monday. “That is the objective to which all parties need to be working. That is what the United States is working towards.”
His remarks were echoed by congressional leaders.
“I strongly support Israel’s right to defend its citizens against rocket and mortar attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza, which have killed and injured Israeli citizens, and to restore security to its residents,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., said Monday. “Hamas’ failure to stop these attacks only exacerbates the humanitarian situation for the residents of Gaza and undermines efforts to attain peace and security in the region.”
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard L. Berman , D-Calif., and ranking Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, condemned the Hamas rocket attacks. Ros-Lehtinen said the Israeli response “has been carefully calibrated to halt the rocket fire, aimed at surgically eliminating Hamas militants and the teams that are operating the rockets, while at the same time making every effort to limit civilian casualties in the face of Hamas’ callous use of innocent Palestinians as human shields.”
A dissenting view was expressed by Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich , D-Ohio, who called for an independent United Nations investigation of the situation.
“Israel is leveling Gaza to strike at Hamas, just as they pulverized south Lebanon to strike at Hezbollah,” Kucinich said. “Yet in both cases civilian populations were attacked, countless innocents killed or injured, infrastructure targeted and destroyed, and civil law enforcement negated. All this was, and is, disproportionate, indiscriminate mass violence in violation of international law.”
The Palestinian death toll from the Israeli air strikes has reached 300 so far, and Israeli officials said they were expecting a lengthy campaign to destroy Hamas’ military capacity. So far, Hamas rockets have killed two Israelis and wounded scores of others.
For a full version of this story and the latest coverage, please visit CQ Politics.
Comments
CQ identifies the Hamas men with guns as "gunmen" and "militants and their team," and concludes its biased reporting with, "So far, Hamas rockets have killed two Israelis and wounded scores of others." HAMAS men with guns are terrorists. HAMAS is #12 on the US-State Department's list of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations: http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm. The "two Israelis" initially killed were, in fact, Arabs privileged to work in Israel. Since Israel voluntarily "evacuated" the Gaza Strip in 2005, forcibly evicting its own citizens in vain hopes of peace -- people who lost their homes and property and livelihoods, without restitution -- Palestinians from Hamas-controlled Gaza have fired over 5,000 rockets and missiles into southern Israel. Over 200 rockets were fired at Israeli civilians just last week and Israel warned Gazans it would respond with force, and it did. Israel did not attack civilians; its targets included 40 tunnels used to smuggle weapons and terrorists into Gaza, the port, Hamas police stations, Hamas headquarters, and Hamas weapons factories. However, Hamas routinely places its terrorists, weapons, and supplies among civilians, endangering its own civilian population. That is one of the reasons Egypt blocked its border with Gaza and refused entry, with force, against Gazans trying to get into Egypt to create chaos in Egypt. While Hamas is attacking Israeli civilians, Israel is attacking Hamas terrorists while also providing humanitarian aid to Gazan citizens, allowing trucks through the Kerem Shalom entry with food, medicine, and supplies. CQ has joined the ranks of media creating false news reports to fit its biased, anti-Israel editorial views, rather than objectively reporting the facts. Here are some sources of FACTUAL information: www.debka.com, www.honestreporting.com, www.israelnationalnews.com, www.memri.org, www.ynetnews.com.
POST A COMMENT
Oops! The following errors must be addressed: