Friend --
It’s been 48 hours since the ceasefire, and I can breathe a little easier.
During the last Gaza escalation, just over a year ago, I remember running to the bomb shelter with my family, seeing the explosions of the Iron Dome interceptors, hearing jets roaring toward Gaza -- and families without bomb shelters -- wondering when this cycle of violence would end. This past weekend, having moved to America after 12 years in Israel, I found myself anxiously staring at notifications on my phone, watching from afar as the violence erupted once again.
For Israelis, Palestinians and those of us with family and friends in the region, it’s been a painful few days.
The almost three-day Israeli operation in Gaza against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group followed ongoing tension and clashes in the West Bank, with clear threats of PIJ retaliation toward Israel. As Israeli airstrikes targeted the PIJ in Gaza, they responded with indiscriminate rocket fire toward Israel.
The Gaza conflict once again threatened to escalate horrifically. Innocent Israelis and Palestinians were again caught in the middle of the ongoing cycle of violence.
Thankfully, the Sunday ceasefire continues to hold.
In the three days of hostilities, over 1,100 rockets and mortars were fired toward Israel, sending Israelis running for bomb shelters as Iron Dome, thankfully, intercepted the overwhelming majority of missiles.
In Gaza, airstrikes destroyed homes, with 44 Gaza residents killed and over 300 injured. That toll included both targeted militants and more than a dozen children, reflecting casualties caused both by Israeli airstrikes and reportedly malfunctioning PIJ rockets that landed in Gaza. Notably, Hamas did not engage.
We can all be deeply thankful to those who worked so urgently to reach the ceasefire agreement -- including the constructive support of the Biden administration and hardworking diplomats from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Nations.
Their urgent diplomacy saved lives.
Just like any other state, Israel has not only the right to protect its citizens from harm but the obligation to do so. But that cannot be the beginning and end of US policy in the region.
As Israel’s closest ally and a global superpower, America has a responsibility to work with Israel to ensure long-term safety and security in the region. To stop the cycle of injustice, violence and retaliation which rips so many families apart. Together, we must confront and unwind the root causes that drive this conflict.
We cannot accept constant, cyclical threats of escalation and terror. We cannot accept an endless stream of grief, loss and devastation -- of panicked families running for shelter and children growing up in fear of terror attacks or missile strikes. We cannot accept endless blockades and restrictions that inflict an ongoing humanitarian crisis on the population in Gaza, almost half of whom are children.
Concerted diplomacy brought a swift end to this most recent cycle of violence, and it offers us the only pathway out of the conflict and suffering.
That path is toward a negotiated, stable, enforceable agreement that guarantees security for Israelis, disempowers militants and would-be terrorists, ends the occupation, and grants the people of Gaza and the West Bank the safety, self-determination and freedom that every person deserves.
We should be under no illusions about the challenge we face in achieving peace, which is precisely why we cannot afford to push it any further from reach.
The United States must show clear, principled, engaged leadership. It means we must help provide a clear political pathway for Israelis to achieve security and for Palestinians to achieve self-determination -- a path that leads away from endless conflict, occupation and terror.
These past few days have been another painful reminder that the status quo of suffering, injustice and fear -- punctuated by violence that strikes terror into the hearts of Israelis and Palestinians alike -- is a status quo we cannot accept.
As we continue to press for stronger American leadership, we are deeply thankful for your ongoing support.
Yours,
Adina Vogel Ayalon
Chief of Staff, J Street
