J Street welcomes and fully supports President Biden’s reported decision to deploy CIA Director William J. Burns to assist in brokering a deal to temporarily halt the hostilities in Gaza, release all remaining hostages, and allow for an urgent, overdue influx of humanitarian aid to civilians.
“Charging the CIA Director with this role indicates that this is a serious, urgent and delicate effort to broker the release of remaining hostages and put a stop to the horrific devastation in Gaza,” said J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami. “As Israel’s key partner with tremendous influence in the region, these goals must be a priority for the United States. It’s past time to recognize that this war, as it is being pursued by the Netanyahu government, is not achieving its stated aims. It’s time to lead with diplomacy.”
Earlier this week, J Street strongly supported a call from General Gadi Eisenkot – an Israeli War Cabinet member and retired Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces – for urgent diplomatic efforts to broker a negotiated stop to the fighting and to bring freedom to the hostages and relief to the people of Gaza. We continue to stand in solidarity with the families of hostages in Israel who are leading powerful protests to call for diplomatic efforts to ensure the safety and swift release of hostages – the only channel that has delivered significant results so far.
J Street continues to call on the Biden administration to use all available leverage to press the Israeli government to facilitate an immediate, dramatic surge in humanitarian assistance to the civilian population of Gaza. The toll inflicted upon civilians by this war has been unbearably high, and the suffering must stop now.