Frank Lautenberg: “I am thoroughly upset about what is happening in the Middle East--watching people cower in fear, and some dying moments…”

“I am thoroughly upset about what is happening in the Middle East--watching people cower in fear, and some dying moments later as violence escalates. It is a terrible sight to see on television. It is a terrible sight to see in pictures and in the newspapers. It is terrible news to hear reports that after so much effort and so much concern for peace there is this carnage. I think everyone probably knows that I have had a longtime interest in Israel. I have been there many times. But I also have an active interest in a peace resolution. I got to know some of our friends in the Palestinian community. I got to know Mr. Arafat and the people who assisted him--and the Palestinian Authority. Whether a child is Jewish or Moslem or whether he or she is an Israeli citizen or whether he or she is someone out of the refugee camps in Palestine and the surrounding areas, or from the nation of Lebanon, I don't like to see any child taken from a family. I want to make a point. I visited Gaza. I was at the airport just weeks before it opened--maybe days. It was very close in time. I was very enthusiastic about giving help to the Palestinians to get their economy going and providing some hope and vision for them so their lives could be improved and their freedoms expanded. I think it is fair to say that Israel is taking enormous risks in that promotion, particularly the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Barak, who went further, I believe, than anybody else in Israel.”