On October 31, Israel's Defense Forces pulled out its last troops from guard-posts in communities surrounding the Gaza Strip.

Washington, DC -- APN today strongly condemned the terrorist bus bombing that took place today in Tel Aviv, injuring more than 20 innocent civilians. APN stands in solidarity with Israelis who continue to come under fire. APN also expressed deep concern over the death and injury to Palestinian civilians.

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APN Resource Page on the Gaza Crisis
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At the invitation of the New York Times "Room for Debate," APN's Lara Friedman weighed in with analysis of what President Obama can and should do to address the Gaza-Israel crisis and to ensure that any new ceasefire does not become simply an intermission between rounds of violence.

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APN Resource Page on the Gaza Crisis
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As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues, APN brings you news and analysis on the situation, including our own commentary. Visit our homepage frequently to follow the updates.

In recent months, Israeli peace activist Gershon Baskin, the founder and co-chair of the Jerusalem-based Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI) was deeply involved in dialogue with Hamas leaders and with Israeli security officials in trying to forge a stable, ceasefire agreement. Israel's launching of the aerial war in Gaza ended his efforts, but is now - ironically - resulting in Israeli-Hamas efforts to reach exactly that kind of long-lasting ceasefire. Baskin talks about his role as a go-between, and asserts that the only way for Israel to reach a sustainable relationship with Hamas is to pursue a peace agreement with the Palestinians' pragmatic leadership in the West Bank, headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

click here to listen

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APN Resource Page on the Gaza Crisis
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Washington, DC - Americans for Peace Now (APN) today expressed serious concern about the rapidly escalating conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel. APN urges the Obama Administration to urgently engage with Israel, regional parties, and the international community to bring about an immediate halt to the hostilities.

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APN Resource Page on the Gaza Crisis
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On May 31, 2010, Israel confronted an international flotilla seeking to challenge its blockade of Gaza, with tragic results. At that time American for Peace Now (APN) called on Israel to investigate the operation that led to these results and to reassess its Gaza policy. APN noted that the difficult situation presented to Israel by the flotilla underscored the extent to which the continued policy of blockading Gaza was untenable and increasingly indefensible.

Now Israel is facing another flotilla, and it appears that another potential debacle is in the making.

No, there is no typo in the subject line of this post.  "End the Siege on Israel" is the title of a brilliant and incisive op-ed in Haaretz today, penned by Palestine Note's articulate CEO Fadi Elsalameen.  Fadi's point: "Israel's deadly attack on the 'Freedom Flotilla' is proof of how Gaza continues to give Israel a taste of its own medicine. Intended to help solve Israel's problems with Hamas, the three-year-old siege of Gaza is developing into a siege of Israel, while it causes tremendous damage to the country's image around the world." 

End the siege on Israel

By Fadi Elsalameen

Israel's deadly attack on the "Freedom Flotilla" is proof of how Gaza continues to give Israel a taste of its own medicine. Intended to help solve Israel's problems with Hamas, the three-year-old siege of Gaza is developing into a siege of Israel, while it causes tremendous damage to the country's image around the world.

In June 2007, as part of an effort to pressure Hamas and force it out of power, Israel clamped a tight blockade on Gaza.  The blockade blocks the free movement of all goods and people into and out of the Gaza Strip.  This blockade is carried out by Israel along its border with the Gaza Strip and along the shores of Gaza, and by Egypt, along its border with the Strip. The blockade has continued through the past three years, condoned and supported by the United States and the international community.

Renowned Israeli author and veteran Peace Now (Shalom Achshav) leader Amos Oz has written an important and powerful op-ed on the Gaza flotilla debacle, published in today's New York Times.  It is recommended reading for all who love Israel and who are watching with anguish to what happened yesterday on the Mediterranean and its aftermath.

Israeli Force, Adrift on the Sea
By AMOS OZ | June 1, 2019 | ARAD, Israel

FOR 2,000 years, the Jews knew the force of force only in the form of lashes to our own backs. For several decades now, we have been able to wield force ourselves -- and this power has, again and again, intoxicated us.

In the period before Israel was founded, a large portion of the Jewish population in Palestine, especially members of the extremely nationalist Irgun group, thought that military force could be used to achieve any goal, to drive the British out of the country, and to repel the Arabs who opposed the creation of our state.

Luckily, during Israel's early years, prime ministers like David Ben-Gurion and Levi Eshkol knew very well that force has its limits and were careful to use it only as a last resort. But ever since the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel has been fixated on military force. To a man with a big hammer, says the proverb, every problem looks like a nail.

Israel's siege of the Gaza Strip and Monday's violent interception of civilian vessels carrying humanitarian aid there are the rank products of this mantra that what can't be done by force can be done with even greater force. This view originates in the mistaken assumption that Hamas's control of Gaza can be ended by force of arms or, in more general terms, that the Palestinian problem can be crushed instead of solved.