Arutz Sheva: Israel allies united against Hamas

Chairmen of Israel Allies Caucus from around the world issued a joint statement condemning the recent attacks carried out by Hamas from the Gaza Strip.

“We call on Hamas to immediately cease its barrage of rockets against Israeli civilians, and to remove its operating bases from within Gaza neighborhoods and densely populated civilian areas which disproportionately increases the death toll of civilians and endangers the lives of noncombatants,” the statement says.

While international voices have called for restraint from both sides, Israel Allies Caucus implored the international community to expose and condemn Hamas as the original perpetrators of the current violence, while supporting Israel’s right to “exercise legitimate self-defense… in order to guarantee the security of its citizens.”

This statement was signed by over twenty legislators, each serving as Chairman of the Israel Allies Caucus in their parliaments. These parliamentarians span several continents and represent countries including Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania, Finland, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Italy, Uruguay, Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Suriname, Venezuela, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Chair of the Dutch Parliamentary Israel Allies Caucus MP Kees Van Der Staaij, who has over 90 thousand twitter followers, tweeted “Shocked by images of massive rocket attacks from Gaza on innocent civilians in Israel (and) from Hamas’ weapons depots in apartment buildings. This violence must be condemned and stopped!”

Josh Reinstein, President of the Israel Allies Foundation said “In the seemingly endless turmoil in the Middle East, one thing remains constant, and that is the strength of faith-based diplomacy. The parliamentarians in the Israel Allies network bring a courageous voice of reason which is sorely lacking in public and social media platforms. We are grateful to them for their efforts to spread awareness of Hamas’ brutality in contrast to Israel’s heroic standards of military ethics.”

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