Test Backgrounder

March 5, 2008

ISRAEL ACTS IN ITS OWN SELF-DEFENSE

During the past week, more than 335 rockets have been fired at Israeli civilians by Iran-backed Hamas terrorists in Gaza, killing one Israeli civilian and wounding many others. Hamas has also urged a renewed wave of suicide bombings in Israel and praised the recent attack in Dimona as a "heroic act." Facing ongoing attacks on its citizens and territory, which total more than 4,000 since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Israel has been forced to take increased measures to defend its citizens.

This afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution 951, a bi-partisan resolution condemning the ongoing Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and supporting the sovereign right of the Government of Israel to defend its territory and stop the rocket attacks. The resolution passed by a vote of 404-1 and firmly places responsibility for the ongoing violence on Hamas and Islamic Jihad and their patrons, Iran and Syria. Click here for the full text of the resolution.

As the violence increases in the region, please consider the following talking points in your discussions in your community:

Israel has a sovereign right to defend its territory and its civilian population from the ongoing rocket attacks launched by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organizations in Gaza.
Israel cannot live in a situation in which it is under daily attack.
In taking action to defend itself, Israel takes every measure to prevent the loss of civilian life and deeply regrets all civilian casualties.
Even as rockets are being fired at Israel from Gaza, Israel continues to deliver humanitarian aid, including fuel, electricity, and medicine, to Palestinian civilians.
The infrastructure of terrorism in the Palestinian territories is a direct hindrance to the peace process in the region.
Israel is committed to the peace process and recognizes that the alternative would only further incite Hamas to use terror as a tool to halt future negotiations.
Israel has a mutual interest with those Palestinians who wish to live in a state of their own, in peace and security, alongside Israel.

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