Getting Tough with Israel: US Congress to Put Pressure on Obama?

Fifty-four members of the US Congress have signed a letter, initiated by Jim McDermott from Washington and Keith Ellison from Minnesota, asking President Barack Obama to put pressure on Israel to ease the siege of the Gaza Strip. The authors have pointed to the necessity for ease of movement of people into and out of Gaza, especially students, the sick, aid workers, journalists, and those with family concerns. They have also asked for the import of building materials to rebuild houses. The letter summarises:

This concern [regarding ongoing Hamas missiles] must be addressed without resulting in the de facto collective punishment of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip.

We ask you to press for immediate relief for the citizens of Gaza as an urgent component of your broader Middle East peace efforts.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington has responded:

The Israeli position is that the Hamas government in Gaza does not meet the conditions set forth by the international community and the Quartet. And as long as Hamas continues to attack Israel with missiles and other means, Israel will not open the border crossings. With this, Israel is doing everything possible to ensure that humanitarian aid enters Gaza in a controlled manner so that it is ensured that the population receives what it needs, including medical care in Israel. But Israel will not allow a neighbor that calls for its destruction to enjoy the benefits of an open border.

Meanwhile, Ellison criticized the US House of Representatives' rejection of the Goldstone Report on the Gaza War, arguing that the report "only presents facts and raises recommendations for the future". He said that the rejection hurt the Obama government's role as an honest broker in the Middle East conflict.

Comments

[Dave]

Those that signed it are of the anti-Israel camp. No surprises here.

[Catherine]

Finally!

[Dave]

To hell with Gaza and those supporting it, the message from Israel is still the same, stop the aggression and the borders will open.

[Bijan]

Once again Catherine..seems like you and I are on the same page. I'll leave it at that this time...

[Dave]

[Deleted by moderator --- No personal attacks.]

[Bijan]

Unnecessary comment Dave and easily made from the safety of the internet. If you can't take part in a civil discussion then please go somewhere else.

[Dave]

[Edited by moderator]

Bijan, your assessment of whether my comment is unnecessary or not is irrelevant....

[Catherine]

@ Moderator
You probably know this already, and there may be no solution for it, but all the insulting remarks you delete from the website still appear on the e-mail subscriptions of those who want to be notified of follow-up comments in the thread. The subscription feature is fantastic and it would be silly not to use it just because someone who can't behave civilly might show up on any particular thread. Maybe you should have a "three strikes and you're out rule" for those who insist on lacing their comments with personal attacks and keep you busy removing them instead of doing other more important things?

[Scott Lucas]

Catherine,

In the (fortunately rare) case of commenters who are personally abusive, we move them to a queue where their further remarks have to be approved before they appear on the site. We hope this takes care of the problem.

S.