Schiff: “The situation in Gaza is unendurable; this will make it worse. This war must end, not escalate.”
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) issued the following statement after Israel’s security cabinet voted to approve a plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to occupy Gaza City.
The statement from Senator Schiff comes one week after he and Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) led a broad group of 44 Senators expressing alarm about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and urging the Trump Administration to resume diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire agreement and end the war.
Schiff’s full statement can be found below:
“Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s plan to occupy Gaza, in a military operation that the Israeli military itself opposes and that could extend for years, will only result in further loss of life among the hostages, Palestinian civilians, and the members of the IDF required to undertake such a calamitous task. The situation in Gaza is unendurable; this will make it worse. This war must end, not escalate.
“Already, Palestinians are starving, including substantial numbers of women and children, even as Hamas terrorists starve and murder Israeli hostages. Both the United States and Israel have a moral obligation to bring this conflict to an end and surge humanitarian aid to Gaza, including massive amounts of food and medicine. As I wrote just last week in a letter joined by 43 of my Senate colleagues, the large-scale and sustained provision of aid must be undertaken immediately and by humanitarian organizations that know what they are doing.
“To be clear: Hamas must be held to account for its mass murder, torture, and rape of Israelis, and for any diversion of food from those who are hungry. No call upon the Israeli government to act to stop this unendurable suffering by civilians in Gaza can ignore the barbaric acts committed by Hamas that brought this war about, the need to ensure they can never threaten Israel again, and the even more urgent need for the release of all of the hostages. The international community must be persistent in its demand for the immediate release of the hostages and not ignore the casus belli of this terrible war.
“Israel has a moral and legal obligation to make sure the people in Gaza have enough food and medical care. And as Israel’s strongest ally and benefactor, the United States has the same moral obligation. If the Netanyahu Government will not allow for the feeding of the people of Gaza, the United States must do so, and by any means necessary. No more talk or prevarication — get food and assistance there now.
“I have always viewed the relationship between the United States and Israel as a special one, for a whole host of reasons, including our shared national security and foreign policy interests, but even more so, out of a sense of history and shared values. And I believe that this relationship must transcend whoever occupies the Prime Minister’s office, or the Oval Office. As I would not have our allies abandon the United States over vehement disagreements with President Trump, nor would I abandon Israel over the destructive policies of Prime Minister Netanyahu. But that does not mean we can or should ignore or fail to call out continued perilous action — and inaction — by both this Prime Minister and this President — and insist on a dramatic change in the policies of both.
“I find no shared value in the preventable starvation of the people of Gaza. I see no common principle in the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza or plans for settler colonies there, only a moral and legal failing of terrible proportion. I am compelled to speak out, because I believe in an Israel that has been, and can be again, a light unto other nations.”
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