Congressman Mike Rogers said today Israel has a right to defend itself against the continuing bombing of innocent Israeli civilians by the terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza strip near southern Israel.

Rogers, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said since Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, Hamas and other terrorist groups have turned the area into a launching pad for more than 6,000 rocket and mortar attacks against Israel instead of seizing the historic opportunity to build a better life for the people of Gaza.  News reports have shown many of these rocket and mortar attacks against Israel were targeted at innocent civilians, including schools and hospitals.

“We must all remember that all free and democratic nations across the world are engaged in a war on terrorism. Hamas is no different than Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah or any other ruthless terrorist organization. It seeks to terrorize free people by killing and traumatizing innocents,” Rogers added.

Rogers said Israel is fighting a terrorist group that is relentlessly attacking its people, and for Israel to do anything less than fully defending itself militarily would be completely irresponsible. Inaction, Rogers said, could cause long-term detrimental implications to Israel’s security in the region.

“I wholeheartedly support Israel’s right to self defense and its efforts to eliminate the Hamas terrorist and rocket launching sites in the Gaza strip through their military offensive.  I urge the United Nations and our European counterparts to do the same,” Rogers concluded.
                                                                     

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