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I hope you are doing well.
I’m writing to share updates from the region over the past week, including Secretary Blinken’s visit, the devastation in Gaza and Lebanon, the threats posed by Iran, and potential pathways forward.
It is crucial that the U.S., along with its allies and regional partners, apply sustained and decisive pressure on the Netanyahu government and all parties involved to bring an end to the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon and avert a broader war with Iran. You can find our full statement here.
As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions.
All the best,
Lily
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Lily Adelstein
She/Her
Deputy Director of Government Affairs, J Street
Cell: 202-699-2701
J Street’s Congressional Resource Page
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This week on j street
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| STATEMENT |
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J Street Urges Consistent and Consequential Us-Led Pressure on All Parties to End the Devastation in Gaza and Lebanon and Prevent War With Iran
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What we’re reading
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US defense chief says lack of humanitarian aid in Gaza could create more insurgents
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| A failure to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza could create more insurgents, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says. Speaking to reporters in Rome, Austin also says that he has not seen evidence that there was a Hezbollah bunker filled with cash built under a hospital in Beirut, adding that Washington would continue to work with Israel to get better insights. “We have not seen evidence of that at this moment. But, you know, we will continue to collaborate with our Israeli counterparts to gain better fidelity on exactly what they are looking at,” Austin says. |
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Qatar Can Be Part of the Solution, and Not Just Part of the Problem
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| “Qatar’s soft power diplomacy could serve as an alternative to the ongoing military conflicts, which is perhaps a strategy Israel should also consider adopting. We should also learn from the U.S., which utilizes Qatar for diplomatic moves with hostile countries and organizations. For example, Qatar helped release American citizens from Iranian prisons and facilitated the agreement that allowed U.S. forces to exit Afghanistan… While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used Qatar to fund Hamas with the declared goal of weakening the Palestinian Authority and the chances of a political settlement, I propose using Qatar to help advance a settlement with the Palestinians as part of a regional agreement. Similarly, it is important to leverage Qatar, one of the five key countries assisting governance in Lebanon, to help weaken Hezbollah domination in Lebanon.” |
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It could take 350 years for Gaza to rebuild if it remains under a blockade, UN report says
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| Earlier in the month, Israel launched another major operation in northern Gaza — the most heavily destroyed part of the territory — saying Hamas had regrouped there. “Everybody now calls for a cease-fire, but people forget that once the cease-fire is done, the 2.2 million Palestinians will wake up having no homes, children having no schools, no universities, no hospitals, no roads,” Alazzeh said. All that will take a long time to rebuild, and could prove impossible under the blockade. “If we go back to where it was before, and we shouldn’t go back to the way it was before,” he said, “then I think it means that Gaza’s done.” |
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Israel Denies Intentional Displacement of Palestinians in Northern Gaza Amid Western Concerns
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| Israel has made it clear to the U.S. and major European countries in the past few days that it is not acting to remove the entire civilian population from northern Gaza. These countries, however, are treating Israel’s clarification with suspicion and believe that the government’s explanation does not honestly represent IDF operations on the ground… In parallel with the operations against Hamas targets, claims have been raised that the Israel is in practice implementing the plan of Maj.-Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland to remove the entire civilian population from north Gaza, transferring them south, beyond the Netzarim corridor. |
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Israel Bombs Lebanese City as Blinken Hints at New Ideas for Gaza Cease-Fire
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| According to Israeli officials, Israel has recently discussed with Egypt — which has acted as an intermediary because Israel and Hamas do not speak directly to each other — the possibility of a short cease-fire, lasting roughly a week and a half, in exchange for the release of some of the 101 hostages held in Gaza by Hamas or its allies, many of whom are presumed dead. That would be a shift from the plan that has been on the table for months, which laid out a path to free all the hostages in exchange for the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel and an Israeli commitment to end the war. U.S. officials hope to test whether Hamas is more open to negotiations after the killing last week of its leader, Yahya Sinwar, whom Mr. Blinken on Wednesday described as “the primary obstacle” to a larger agreement. |
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Hezbollah proving a formidable foe against Israeli forces in Lebanon
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| After a series of staggering losses, Hezbollah is putting up a stiff fight against Israeli forces in Lebanon’s south while continuing to rain down rockets across the border, underscoring the group’s resilience and the limitations of Israel’s ground campaign. When Israel sent troops across the border on Oct. 1, officials estimated military operations would last for a few weeks. More than three weeks later, officials have said they will likely need a few weeks longer, raising concerns over the kind of mission creep that has defined Israel’s past wars in Lebanon. A resurgent Hezbollah damaged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in a drone attack over the weekend and has warned a “new escalatory phase” is coming. The militant group has bounced back from its unprecedented setbacks — including the penetration of its electronic devices and the assassination of most of its senior leadership — thanks to a flexible command structure, help from Iran and years of planning for an Israeli invasion, current and former Lebanese officials said. Israeli officials, for their part, contend that the group remains significantly weakened and operations on the ground in Lebanon are going according to plan. |
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Israel considers its response to the surge in Iran spies
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| Israeli security agencies were considering how to deal with the surge of spies working for Iran. A senior official in the Shin Bet said that there is a systematic Iranian effort to target senior Israelis. On Tuesday, a new cell of operatives working for Iran, this time in East Jerusalem, was uncovered. They are suspected of planning the assassination of a nuclear scientist and the mayor of a city in central Israel. On Monday, the Shin Bet said it arrested seven others, all members of a family who immigrated from Azerbaijan. According to the police, they had been carrying out missions for Iran for two years, before they were captured. |
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Senior ministers call for new settlements in Gaza at ultranationalist conference
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| Senior cabinet ministers, as well as members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, called at a Monday event for the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza, while others urged the encouragement of Palestinian emigration from the war-ravaged territory. Speaking at the large ultranationalist conference on the Gaza border, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said that “encouraging emigration” of Palestinian residents of the territory was the best and “most ethical” solution to the conflict. Likud members made similar comments, with Social Equality and Advancement of the Status of Women Minister May Golan declaring at the conference that “taking territory” from Arabs is what “hurts them most,” and that settlements in Gaza would bolster Israel’s security. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also attended the conference, endorsed the idea of rebuilding settlements in Gaza, stating on his way to the event that the Strip was “part of the Land of Israel” and that “without settlements, there is no security.” |
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