Political Quotes

“since 2001, thousands of rockets and mortar have been indiscriminately fired into southern Israel at innocent civilians. When Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, these rocket attacks continued. In December 2008, the negotiated cease fire ended and Hamas responded by firing over 60 rockets into Israel in a single day. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis are terrorized daily by fear of attack while an extremist group who calls for Israel's destruction continues to operate. The Israeli government determined it had no choice but to respond to Hamas militarily. Sadly, the cost has been great. Since Israel began its two-week offensive on the Gaza strip, over 750 Palestinians have died. An UN-operated school was bombed and dozens of innocent children were killed. In an unusual move, the International Red Cross issued a statement that ``the Israeli military failed to meet its obligation under international humanitarian law to care for and evacuate the wounded.'' Gazans are trapped with little ability to seek shelter or help for the wounded. Does Israel have a right to defend itself? My answer is unequivocally, yes. I cannot argue with most of the statements contained in this resolution. I do not condone the tactics Hamas uses in its efforts to destroy Israel, nor is it acceptable that an elected government refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist and exploits its own citizens to further its extreme agenda. But I cannot also pretend this resolution, H. Res.…”