[ ]J Street [ ]
J Street Supports Urgent Calls for Humanitarian Pauses in Israel-Hamas Fighting

October 26, 2023

[ [link removed] ]Read this statement on our website.

As Israeli military operations against Hamas continue in the wake of the
terror group’s heinous attacks on the Israeli people, and as the ongoing
conflict continues to take a terrible toll on Palestinian civilians in
Gaza, J Street strongly supports urgent calls for humanitarian pauses in
the fighting.

Such pauses can and should be used to help bring more desperately needed
aid to civilians in Gaza, including food, water, medicine and fuel; to
establish safe zones and help civilians get out of harm’s way; to help
ensure the protection of civilians wherever they are in Gaza; to
facilitate ongoing negotiations for the urgent release of Israeli and
multinational hostages held by Hamas and other militant groups; and to
facilitate the safe exit from Gaza of US citizens and other foreign
nationals who wish to leave.

Pauses in the fighting also can and should be used to help ensure that the
Israeli government’s plans for further military operations against Hamas
are strategic, pragmatic, and in accordance with international law. As it
rightly supports Israel’s right to defend its citizens and hold Hamas
accountable for its crimes, the Biden Administration should also be using
all of its influence to push its Israeli counterparts to protect the lives
and safety of Palestinian civilians – and to fight Hamas in a way that
will not ultimately undercut Israel’s long-term security or risk a wider
regional conflagration.

No matter how well-planned, a large-scale invasion of Gaza risks
triggering a spiral of escalation that could lead to a multi-front war,
with deeply dangerous consequences for Israelis, Palestinians, the wider
region, and the United States. The US must be clear with Israeli leaders
about these risks – and about lessons learned from our country’s own
calamitous invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq after the horrific terror
attacks on 9/11.

J Street welcomes Secretary Blinken’s [ [link removed] ]statement to the United Nations
Security Council that “humanitarian pauses must be considered” and
[ [link removed] ]further reports that the Biden Administration is now pushing for them.
We also welcome new statements in support of humanitarian pauses from
Members of Congress including [ [link removed] ]Reps. Nadler and Goldman, and [ [link removed] ]Rep.
Schakowsky.

We encourage all Members of Congress to support the push for humanitarian
pauses in the fighting and the restoration of power and water, and we urge
the Biden Administration to continue to pursue whatever steps are
necessary to support Israeli security, counter Hamas, protect Palestinian
civilians, uphold international law and avert regional escalation.


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J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy
Americans who want Israel to be secure, democratic and the national home of the
Jewish people. Working in American politics and the Jewish community, we
advocate policies that advance shared US and Israeli interests as well as Jewish
and democratic values, leading to a two-state solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



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