Biden Admin & Bipartisan Lawmakers Condemn Rocket Attacks on Israel, Urge De-Escalation of Violence

What’s the story?

• Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have weighed in on the violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories that escalated in recent days, with a broad swath of bipartisan lawmakers urging de-escalation and affirming Israel’s right to self-defense and some prominent progressive Democrats criticizing Israel.
• Here’s a look at what has been happening in the region and what leading politicians have said about the growing crisis.

What’s happening in Israel & the Palestinian territories?

• The region is in the midst of the deadliest period of violence since 2014 when Palestinian terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad launched rockets into Israel after the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers, which prompted Israeli airstrikes and a temporary ground invasion aimed at reducing the terror groups’ capacity to attack Israel.
• The latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict kicked off last week after violent clashes broke out over access to the Temple Mount, which is the holiest site in Judaism and is known to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa Mosque, for whom it’s the third holiest site in Islam; and following an Israeli court ruling that several Palestinian tenants in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah can be evicted if they continue to not pay rent to their landlord (the ruling is currently under appeal so the eviction hasn’t occurred).
• Amid rioting in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and in Arab-majority communities within Israel, Hamas and Islamic Jihad began a barrage of rocket and mortar fire aimed at Israeli communities on May 10th, which has continued in the days since, prompting retaliatory airstrikes by the Israelis. 
• The Israeli “Iron Dome” missile defense system, which is developed and funded through a collaboration with the U.S., has intercepted many of the rockets. However, the hundreds of rockets launched by Hamas and Islamic Jihad has resulted in some breaching that protective umbrella and striking their targets in Israeli communities, while others have fallen short of their targets in Israel and instead landed in Palestinian territory. 
• Israel’s counterstrikes are complicated by the fact that the terror groups often position their rocket launchers and weapons caches in or near civilian residential areas, schools, hospitals, and mosques. The U.S. House unanimously condemned Hamas for the use of human shields in early 2018. To mitigate civilian casualties from its strikes against Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets, the Israel Defense Force has adopted a policy of calling residents of buildings near targets to warn them to leave the area and using non-lethal munitions as a warning shot before deploying lethal weapons. 
• Between the barrage of rockets launched by Hamas and Islamic Jihad and the retaliatory strikes by the IDF, there have been numerous casualties among civilians and combatants on both sides of the conflict. 

What they’re saying

• In brief remarks at a press event on Wednesday, President Joe Biden said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that “my expectation and hope is this will be closing down sooner than later, but Israel has a right to defend itself.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for de-escalation while affirming Israel’s right to defense in remarks at a press conference:

“The United States remains committed to a two-state solution. This violence takes us further away from that goal. We fully support Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself. We’ve condemned, and I condemn again, the rocket attacks in the strongest possible terms. We believe Palestinians equally deserve to live with safety and security, and we’ll continue to engage with Israelis, Palestinians, and other regional partners to urge de-escalation and bring calm.”

• In response to a reporter’s question during the press conference, Blinken added:

“There is a very clear and absolute distinction between a terrorist organization, Hamas, that is indiscriminately raining down rockets ― in fact, targeting civilians ― and Israel’s response defending itself that is targeting the terrorists who are raining down rockets on Israel. But whenever we see civilian casualties, and particularly when we see children caught in the crossfire losing their lives, that has a powerful impact. And I think Israel has an extra burden in trying to do everything it possibly can to avoid civilian casualties, even as it is rightfully responding in defense of its people.”

• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said the following in remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday: 

“The state of Israel has every right of self-defense. Its national security leaders have continued to display restraint, and invest so much in precision and avoiding civilian casualties. Israel must know that their friends and allies here in the United States stand with them as they seek to restore deterrence. That we support their right to peace and security. And that we will not relax our efforts to hold terrorists and terrorists’ supporters to account.”

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) released the following statement on Tuesday:

“I condemn the escalating and indiscriminate rocket attacks by Hamas against Israel. Israel has the right to defend herself against this assault, which is designed to sow terror and undermine prospects for peace. Every civilian death is a tragedy that we mourn. Hamas’s accelerating violence only risks killing more civilians, including innocent Palestinians. The recent inflammatory provocations including by extremist forces in Jerusalem have exacerbated this situation, and restraint must be shown by all to de-escalate the crisis.”

• Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairman Emeritus Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WV) tweeted:

“We cannot just condemn rockets fired by Hamas and ignore Israel’s state-sanctioned violence against Palestinians ― including unlawful evictions, violent attacks on protestors & the murder of Palestinian children. U.S. aid should not be funding this violence.”

• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) retweeted Pocan’s tweet, and also released a statement of her own which read:

“We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian residents of The Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem. The Israeli military is forcing families from their homes during the Holy Month of Ramadan and inflicting violence. It is inhumane and the U.S. must show more leadership in safeguarding Palestinian rights.”

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: IDF via Flickr: Gaza Rocket, Rocket Strike, Iron Dome / Creative Commons)