Members of Congress Speak out on Gaza

I received a notice today from Churches for Middle East Peace that 24 members of Congress, led by my former Congressional Representative, Lois Capps (D -- Santa Barbara, CA), wrote a letter to President Bush calling for US efforts to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza and to insist on a Ceasefire. This was copied to Hillary Clinton and Condelezza Rice.

The Letter, which can be seen here in a PDF form, is an important first step, and shows that when Congress is informed things can begin to happen. This letter calls on Israel and the US to do a number of things while a ceasefire is being worked out:

• The humanitarian corridor initiative should allow for patients to be transported out of the Gaza Strip to hospitals that can better meet their needs.

  Medical facilities, including ambulances, must be granted total neutrality and protection in order to evacuate wounded within Gaza.

  Coordination mechanisms vis-à-vis the Israeli Defense Forces should be made
  more efficient in order to provide for the quick and efficient evacuation and exit of patients, including by allowing for applications made directly by Gaza hospitals, Israeli NGOs and patients themselves.

  Unimpeded access should be given to foreign doctors prepared to enter Gaza to provide expert care.

  Unimpeded entrance should be given for humanitarian goods including fuel, medical supplies and spare parts to fix the electricity grid, water and sewage facilities and other critical infrastructure.

  Nahal Oz, the crossing at which fuel is transferred must remain open as it is the only crossing with the capacity to transfer the quantities of fuel needed in the Gaza Strip.

  Israel must safeguard the ability of technicians to access damaged water, sewage, and electrical infrastructure. It must also safeguard deliveries of fuel to Gaza’s power plant and humanitarian institutions .