Response from Senator Ron Wyden regarding Gaza

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Written by Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and Omar Baddar Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and Omar Baddar
Published: 30 July 2014 30 July 2014
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[Senator Wyden's response below has only some relationship to the truth and to the sequences of events culminating in Operation Protective Edge.  Read Omar Baddar's article Debunking the myths about Gaza: The truth behind Israeli and Palestinian talking points for providing a proper context rooted in actual events]


July 29, 2014

 
Dear Mr. XY and Z:
 
Thank you for contacting me to share your concerns about the crisis in Gaza and Operation Protective Edge.  I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
 
As you may know, three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and killed on their way home from school in early June 2014.  Shortly after their bodies were discovered, a young Palestinian boy was brutally murdered in what may be a revenge-based killing.  I condemn in the strongest terms the murders of these four innocent children.  As a father myself, I cannot imagine the pain their families and their communities are going through, and I offer my deepest condolences. 
 
But pain cannot and must not give way to violence and to terror, and I am appalled that Hamas and other terrorist groups have used these tragic deaths as a pretense to fire hundreds of rockets at Israeli communities.  Like any country, Israel has the right to defend its borders and its people from these and other terrorist attacks.  While some have condemned Israel's actions, it is important to remember that the Israeli government agreed to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire; Hamas rejected the proposal, believing cynically that it could extract concessions by continuing the violence.  I have always found that most Palestinians reject this type of cynicism, and I hope that Hamas will listen to those voices and de-escalate this conflict before more innocent people on either side are wounded or killed. 
 
Please know that I will keep working with the administration and international partners to quell this round of violence and that I will continue to support a negotiated, two-state resolution to the underlying conflict.  As I do so, I will keep your views in mind. 
 
Again, thank you for keeping me apprised of your views.  If I can be of any further assistance to you in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me.
 


                        Sincerely,
   
                        Ron Wyden
                        United States Senator

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