In a development that should surprise no one, letters are circulating this week in both the House and Senate denouncing Palestinian incitement - actions or words that impel Palestinians to commit acts of violence against Israelis - and connecting such incitement to last week's heinous murders in the settlement of Itamar.  The House letter, being circulated by Reps. Rothman (D-NJ) and Austria (R-OH), calls on President Obama to do all in his power to "insist that President Abbas reenters peace talks, without preconditions, and demand that President Abbas eliminate all vestiges of incitement coming from his government, Palestinian entities, or officials."  The Senate letter, being circulated by Sens. Kirk (R-IL) and Gillibrand (D-NY), addressed to Secretary Clinton, demands that the Palestinian Authority "stop allowing the incitement that leads to such crimes [as the one committed in Itamar]."

Yes, incitement is a serious issue and it is right for Congress to be concerned.  Palestinian endorsement of violence and hate speech continue to be a problem.  APN has consistently called on - and continues to call on - the PA to address this very troubling issue.

However, both letters are flawed, focusing solely on this one aspect of a problem that has many facets:  

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on 3/1/11, Gen. James Mattis, Commander, US Central Command (CENTCOM) spoke at length about the Middle East (video of the hearing can be viewed here).  He noted that among a host of external influences on the CENTCOM area of operations, the "most significant" include issues related to Middle East Peace (or the lack of progress toward it).  Not only did Gen. Mattis explicitly make this linkage, but Middle East Peace was FIRST on his list of external influences.

Specifically, General Mattis testified (emphasis added):