[ ]J Street[ ]
J Street Gravely Concerned by Intensifying Israel-Hezbollah War, Urges Immediate
De-Escalation

Tuesday, September 24

J Street is gravely concerned by the danger that the ongoing exchange of
fire between Israel and Hezbollah could escalate into a catastrophic
full-scale war with millions of Israeli, Lebanese and Palestinian
civilians caught in the crossfire. 

The situation in northern Israel has been intolerable since Hezbollah
began firing rockets last October 8 in support of Hamas’ heinous terror
attack the prior day. As a result of Hezbollah’s attacks, tens of
thousands of Israelis have been displaced from their homes in the north.
Entire towns and villages have become damaged ghost towns. Israel’s
response to Hezbollah’s rocket fire has in turn forced tens of thousands
of civilians to flee their homes in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli government has a duty and a right under international law to
protect its citizens. Facilitating the return of Israelis to their homes
is an important national priority. Israelis rightfully believe that
Hezbollah must retreat to the north and away from the border in accordance
with prior United Nations Security Council resolutions. Negotiating an end
to the present fighting will require serious international assurances that
any Hezbollah pullback will be permanent and that Israelis can feel safe
and confident returning home.

We are deeply concerned, however, that in the absence of a diplomatic
resolution, the present escalation could quickly get out of control,
spiraling into an all-out regional war in which the losers will be the
Israeli, Lebanese and Palestinian people. 

The swiftest and surest way to achieve calm and to return both Israeli and
Lebanese civilians to their homes is through diplomacy and targeted
deterrence, leading to de-escalation. Efforts to de-escalate in the north
likely hinge on achieving a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas
in the south, making the Biden Administration and its partners’ diplomacy
to that end all the more critical.  

Escalation and an all-out military confrontation with Hezbollah – possibly
bringing in other regional actors as well as the United States – is a
nightmare scenario that must be avoided. We urge the Israeli government to
consider its next steps extraordinarily carefully and to limit its actions
to only those specifically and precisely targeting the very real threats
that it faces.  

The United States must recognize that, sadly, the Netanyahu government
appears uninterested in reaching the diplomatic resolution that is needed.
American policy needs to both exert appropriate pressure on Hamas, Iran
and Hezbollah, and address Israeli obstructionism, pushing the country’s
leaders to see that the surest route to security limits the use of force
to the minimum necessary while maximizing diplomacy to resolve underlying
conflicts.

“We must be clear-eyed about the threat of further escalation, which could
prove devastating for Israel,” said J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami.
“Security officials have already warned that an Israel-Hezbollah war risks
overwhelming Israel’s missile defense systems and American troops could be
drawn into direct engagement. A Gaza ceasefire and a hostage deal would
almost certainly be pushed completely off the agenda."

"The Biden Administration must use all possible leverage to pull the
region back from the brink before it’s too late. Reason, sanity and
diplomacy must prevail. It is the only path to security for Israelis,
Palestinians and Lebanese alike,” Ben-Ami said.

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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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