"Hamas Must End Attacks on Civilians"
Sunday, September 05, 2010
As peace talks resumed this week in the United States between Israel and the Palestinians violence once again took the lives of innocent civilians.
(Jerusalem) - Hamas should be held accountable for two new attacks against Israeli civilians in the West Bank, and those who ordered and participated in the attacks should be prosecuted, Human Rights Watch said today.
The first attack, on August 31, 2010, killed four people and the second, on September 1, wounded two. Hamas's armed wing, Izz el-Din al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility and called the attacks part of "a series of operations.""Hamas's deliberate attacks on civilians are egregious crimes," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Legitimate Palestinian grievances about illegal Israeli settlements do not justify the attacks. Attacking civilians is never justified. It should stop."
Read the full story from Human Rights Watch.
There will never be peace without a safe and secure Israel and a viable Palestinian state. Does either side actually want that or are they willing to live in perpetual war? Both have committed human rights violations.We should keep the Israeli and Palestinian people in our prayers - along with President Obama and Secretary Clinton - as the parties once again try for peace.