I am so excited that Obama is finally involved. Oh, it has been too long but he has only been a president for day.
http://www.haaretz.com/...
I am pleased that he is getting right into this mess to start the peace process.
United States President Barack Obama on Thursday named former Sen. George Mitchell as his Middle East envoy, saying one of his key tasks would be ensuring that the cease-fire in Gaza lasts.
He re is what he said aout Gaza.
In a news conference at the U.S. State Department, Obama said the outline for a "durable cease-fire" in Gaza was clear.
"Hamas must end its rocket fire, Israel will complete the withdrawal of its forces from Gaza. The United States and our partners will support a credible anti-smuggling and interdiction regime so that Hamas cannot rearm," the new president said in his first major speech on the region as since he took office on Tuesday.
Advertisement
As I have had time to read more of what was said at the press confrence
Let me be clear: America is committed to Israel's security and we will always support Israel's right to defend itself against legitimate threats. For years, Hamas has launched thousands of rockets at innocent Israeli citizens. No democracy can tolerate such danger to its people, nor should the international community, and neither should the Palestinian people themselves, whose interests are only set back by acts of terror.
,
Obama added that, and THIS IS CHANGE
just as the terror of rocket fire aimed at innocent Israelis is intolerable, so too is a future without hope for the Palestinians." He called for the openings of Gaza's border crossings with an "appropriate monitoring regime" as part of a lasting cease-fire
This is also CHANGE
The president added that he was deeply concerned by the loss of life among both Israelis and Palestinians, and by the suffering taking place in Gaza. He said his heart "goes out to civilians who are going without food, water or medical care."
Although the reaction from all sides has been positive so far, I wanted to add one raction that blows my mind. As someone commented, Anti-Defamation League national director Abraham Foxman was not as supportive in comments also made before Thursday's news conference
http://jta.org
"Senator Mitchell is fair," he told The Jewish Week. "He's been meticulously even-handed. But the fact is, American policy in the Middle East hasn't been 'even handed' -- it has been supportive of Israel when it felt Israel needed critical U.S. support. So I'm concerned. I'm not sure the situation requires that kind of approach in the Middle East."
Foxman, fair is good.