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Dear Brit Tzedek Member,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has wasted no time
in pushing for substantive on the ground changes in Gaza and
East Jerusalem. On her recent trip to the region, she
argued forcefully for Israel to stop restricting food shipments
into the Gaza Strip, and Israel quickly complied. She also
lodged strong objections to the demolition of homes in East
Jerusalem calling them harmful to the peace process "...and not
in keeping with the obligations entered into under the road
map."
However, neither Sec. Clinton nor anyone else in the
Administration has yet to make any serious pronouncements on
settlement expansion.
Thank Sec. Clinton for her important first steps to
lay the groundwork for peace and urge her to now press for
strict enforcement of a freeze on settlement expansion.
In recent days, Defense Minister Ehud Barak has blocked the
removal of nine houses in the settlement of Ofra, a settlement
which was recently revealed to have been built largely on
privately owned Palestinian land. Plans to build over 15,000 new
housing units in the West Bank have already been approved, while
another 58,000 units await approval. If these plans all go
forward, the settler population would nearly double.
Shortly after President Obama's inauguration, Israel
announced plans for massive expansion of the settlement of
Efrat, in the Etzion bloc. Just this week, it was reported that
part of the coalition agreement between incoming Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and Yisrael Beiteinu's Avigdor Lieberman was
a deal on construction in the controversial E-1 corridor in the
West Bank.
Continued expansion of settlements creates serious obstacles
to the two-state solution. The U.S. must take decisive
action to freeze their growth in order to move forward its peace
agenda. Thank Secretary Clinton for advocating for on
the ground changes and encourage her to press forward by
addressing settlement expansion.
B'Shalom,
Sue Swartz, Chair of Advocacy
Deepa Domansky, Washington Liaison and Advocacy
Coordinator
P.S. Please share this Action Alert with family,
friends, and colleagues.
Sign this petition
:
Dear Madam Secretary,
As a Jewish American from Brit Tzedek v'Shalom who strongly
supports Israel in its quest for peace and security, I
applaud your advocacy for substantive on the ground changes
for Palestinians. In particular, I thank you for calling on
Israel to expand food aid to the Gaza Strip and your
questioning the efficacy of Israel's home demolition
policy in East Jerusalem. Now, I hope that you will act
with equal vigor to advocate for a complete freeze on
settlement construction in the West Bank.
Any expansion of settlements creates serious obstables to a
two-state solution. A settlement freeze would help secure
Israel's future and offer hope to Palestinians, thereby
increasing regional stability.
Sincerely,
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