One of the few regrets I have in not being a member of the 113th US Congress is that I was not present in the House chambers to oppose H.Res.657, which passed by a voice vote, supporting Israel without mentioning the Palestinians.
Congress missed a huge opportunity to stand for peace in the Middle East, recognizing and backing Israel under attack by Hamas, while ignoring issues of illegal settlement building, the desperate conditions inside Gaza, the Israeli government’s subversion of Palestinian unity and the insufficiency of the Cairo initiative which amounted to non-negotiable demands.
No one should condone Hamas’ indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israel, and any and all casualties as a result. But where is the US government’s voice when it comes to the war being waged against Gaza, where over 80% of hundreds of casualties are innocent civilian non-combatants?
How can we expect the Palestinians to become partners for peace if the US Congress refuses to even recognize their existence? If this raging conflict is to be brought to a conclusion there must be recognition of Palestinian existence as well as Israel’s right to exist. Now, more than ever, those who would be party to peace talks must be prepared to recognize the concerns of both.
Reprinted from author’s Facebook page.
