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Steven Emerson,
Executive Director
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April 27, 2017
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Congressional
Caucus Seeks New Approach to Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
by IPT News • Apr 27, 2017 at
1:41 pm
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The Congressional Israel Victory Caucus (CIVC) was launched on Thursday
in an effort to revitalize US. engagement with the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, building on perspectives espoused by the Middle East Forum (MEF).
The caucus calls for the need to put the onus of peace on the
Palestinians, to give up their rejectionist claims about Israel's right to
exist as Jewish state. The initiative also calls for the U.S. to cease
pressuring Israel to make major concessions that often lead to more
Palestinian violence and terrorism.
Co-chairs, Reps. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and Bill Johnson, R-Ohio,
expressed strong support for Israel and its right to defend itself at
Thursday's launch event, which featured several other Republican
congressmen.
"Israel is not the problem in the Middle East; it is the solution
to many of the problems that bedevil the region. American policy must
ensure that Israel emerges victorious against those who deny or threaten
her existence," DeSantis said in a statement announcing the initiative.
The caucus wants the Palestinian Authority (PA) to stop its violent incitement against Jews and Israelis. It aims
to help reverse one sided, anti-Israel United Nations resolutions and
oppose efforts to delegitimize Israel through initiatives such as the
Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
Palestinian incitement prevents peace from materializing, Johnson said,
specifically calling out the widespread practice of naming Palestinian institutions and schools after terrorists responsible for murdering
innocent Israelis.
DeSantis also blasted the PA for continuing to pay terrorists' families after they
committed attacks against Israelis.
"Any financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority by American
taxpayers cannot continue so long as the PA continues to pay pensions and
salaries for families of terrorists. It's a simply inappropriate use of
taxpayer money and it's not fair to the American taxpayer," DeSantis
said at Thursday's event.
The Taylor Force Act, a bill named after a 28-year-old
American tourist killed by a Palestinian terrorist in Israel last year,
would prohibit U.S. assistance to the PA until terrorist salaries and
payments cease.
"If you die as a terrorist, as a 'martyr,' your family will get an
annual stipend greater than the average Palestinian earns. In this case,
the terrorist who killed Taylor Force...was hailed as a hero, was basically
given a state funeral, and his family was given money by the state," says sponsor Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
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