Benjamin Gilman: “31 innocent Israeli men, women, and children have been brutally murdered by Palestinian terrorists in the past 3 days…”

“31 innocent Israeli men, women, and children have been brutally murdered by Palestinian terrorists in the past 3 days, most recently a mother and her three children last night in their own home. Yesterday, many of us felt the pain personally when we learned that Michal Franklin, age 21, the niece of Israeli's Ambassador to South Africa, Tova Herzl, was one of the murdered on Wednesday in Jerusalem. My colleagues may recall that Ambassador Herzl served as congressional liaison here in Washington just a few years ago. We extend to Tova and her family our deepest condolences and condemn the barbaric and cowardly act. Permit me to quote from yesterday's Washington Post editorial, which states: ``It is easy to understand why many Israelis would support the latest military campaign. There have now been at least 71 suicide bombings in 20 months that have killed some 247 civilians and wounded thousands more as they rode buses, shopped, sat in cafes, danced in clubs, or celebrated religious holidays. No democratic country could be expected to tolerate such a sustained campaign of murder.'' Mr. Speaker, that Washington Post editorial succinctly sums up the critical Middle East situation, underscores why Mr. Yasser Arafat must go, and why President Bush should not at this time announce American support for any provisional Palestinian state.”