New York, NY, July 18, 2014… The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed full support for Israeli ground action in Gaza aimed at ending the unceasing rocket attacks on Israeli cities and towns, saying that “no government in the world would allow its citizens to be subjected to constant rocket attacks” without responding.
On July 17, following more than 10 days where 1,500 missiles, rockets and mortars were fired from Hamas-controlled Gaza into Israel, the Israeli government expanded its military operation, sending in ground troops to destroy Hamas’s tunnel network and rocket storage facilities, which cannot be reached by aerial attacks. Hamas smuggles rockets and other weapons into Gaza through its tunnels, and uses them to infiltrate Israel with the intention of killing and kidnapping civilians and soldiers.
Barry Curtiss-Lusher, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:
We fully support Israel’s decision to expand its military operation in Gaza with the goal of ending the unceasing rocket attacks on Israel. Hamas, which rejected the Egyptian-proposed ceasefire earlier this week, had left Israel with no acceptable alternative but to send in troops to effectively find and destroy Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure of tunnels and munitions storage sites.
The decision to engage in ground operations was an exercise of Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense under international law, but an option Israel clearly would have preferred to avoid. No government in the world would stand by and allow its citizens to be subjected to constant rocket attacks on their homes, schools and places of business, or terrorist infiltrations through underground tunnels. The people of every country expect their government to protect them, and that is why Israel is acting here, with the ultimate goal of bringing peace and quiet to all its citizens.
We call on the governments of the United States, the European Union and other responsible states to publicly support Israel’s right to self-defense, and exert pressure over Hamas to cease its terrorist activities so Israel can withdraw its troops from Gaza.