Young later noted that he also supported Israel’s operations in the Gaza Strip.
(Adam Pinsker, WFIU/WTIU News)
Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) has joined a growing list of Democrats in the U.S. Senate hoping for an end to deadly violence in the Middle East.
Young and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) issued a joint statement Sunday expressing support for a ceasefire in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
“As a result of Hamas’ rocket attacks and Israel’s response, both sides must recognize that too many lives have been lost and must not escalate the conflict further,” Young and Murphy wrote. “We are encouraged by reports that the parties are exploring a ceasefire. We hope that this ceasefire can be reached quickly and that additional steps can be taken to preserve a two-state future.”
Young later noted that he also supported Israel’s operations in the Gaza Strip, writing Monday on Twitter that the Palestinian armed group Hamas was responsible for the violence. He also called on the Biden administration to continue aid to Israel.
As I stated yesterday, Israel has the right to defend itself from Hamas' terror attacks. I continue to stand with Israel, and I'm hopeful that Israel's actions will neutralize Hamas’s rocket attacks and cease their terrorism of the people of Israel. 1/4
Young is the senior Republican on the foreign relations subcommittee for the region and Murphy is the subcommittee chairman.
Twenty-eight members of the Democratic Caucus in the U.S. Senate have also called for a ceasefire.
Earlier this week, Young and Sen. Mike Braun called on the Biden administration to end talks with Iran on sanctions relief over that country’s support for armed groups in Gaza.
Biden expressed support for a ceasefire in a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, the eighth day of air strikes and rocket barrages that have killed at least 200 people, most of them Palestinians in Gaza.
Biden stopped short of joining the growing demands for an immediate cease-fire in the fighting. But the White House readout of the call showed increased White House concern that the fighting - including Israeli airstrikes aimed at weakening Hamas — come to an end, while still expressing support for Israel.
The U.S. leader also “encouraged Israel to make every effort to ensure the protection of innocent civilians,” according to a White House readout.
As the worst Israeli-Palestinian fighting since 2014 raged, the Biden administration had previously limited its public criticisms to Hamas and declined to send a top-level envoy to the region, or press Israel publicly and directly to wind down its latest military operation in the Gaza Strip, a six-mile by 25-mile territory that is home to more than 2 million people. Cease-fire mediation by Egypt and others have shown no sign of progress.
The United States, Israel’s top ally, also blocked for a third time Monday what would have been a unanimous statement by the 15-nation U.N. Security Council expressing “grave concern” over the intensifying Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the loss of civilian lives. The final U.S. rejection Monday killed the Security Council statement, at least for now. White House press secretary Jen Psaki and national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States was focusing instead on “quiet, intensive diplomacy.”
The U.S. administration’s publicly tempered response comes despite calls from Security Council partners, some Democrats and others for Biden’ and other international leaders to wade more deeply into diplomacy to end the worst Israel-Palestinian violence in years and revive long-collapsed mediation for genuine peace there.
Speaking in Copenhagen, where he was making an unrelated tour of Nordic countries, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken kicked off other, quieter U.S. outreach so far to try to de-escalate hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel, and said he would be making more calls Monday.
“In all of these engagements we have made clear that we are prepared to lend our support and good offices to the parties should they seek a cease-fire,” Blinken said.
He said he welcomed efforts by the U.N., Egypt and other nations working for a cease-fire.
