Green Party of New York State
www.gpnys.org
Howie Hawkins for US Senate
www.hawkinsforsenate.org
July 17, 2006
Originally released July 13, 2006
For more information: Howie Hawkins, (315) 425-1019,
howie@hawkinsforsenate.net
Sander Hicks, (347) 446-4461 sander@voxpopnet.net
Sally Kim, (518) 451-9469, green_sallyk@yahoo.com
Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for US Senate for New York, said
today that the US government should use its leadership to effect an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East before it escalates into an all out
war involving multiple countries. He condemned the Bush administration’s
unconditional support for Israel’s military attacks in Gaza and Lebanon.
Hawkins said that an international peacekeeping force should be deployed to
end the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territories and its
operations in Gaza and Lebanon and to stop attacks against Israel by Palestinian forces. The
United States has been the principal country blocking implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 242 (1967) and
338 (1973), which require Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories.
"Ultimately, peace can only be achieved through negotiations between the
Israeli and Palestinian leaderships. It can't be imposed by others. But
peace cannot come under the oppression of a military occupation. The occupied territories have
become little more than a prison camp for Palestinian civilians and now Israel is depriving residents of access to
their means of survival, including food, water, and electricity. The United
States must unequivocally state that Israel cannot expect continued US
military and economic aid so long as Israel’s military occupation of the
Palestinian territories continues. Palestinian people are being deprived of
the most elementary human rights, and are subjected to a never-ending process
whose intended outcome appears to be their complete dispossession and expulsion from their homeland," noted Hawkins.
Hawkins said the US should also immediately recognize the democratically
elected Palestinian government and restore funding.
Hawkins also condemned Hillary Clinton’s unconditional support for Israel’s
policies. In a November 2005 visit to a section of separation wall being
built around Jerusalem, Clinton said, "This is not against the Palestinian
people. This is against the terrorists." In a December 11, 2005 speech at
Yeshiva University, Hillary Clinton called Israel, "not only our ally; it is
a beacon of what democracy can and should mean...If the people of the Middle
East are not sure what democracy means, let them look to Israel."
Hawkins said, “States that confer rights based on religion, whether Jewish
or Islamic, are inherently discriminatory and undemocratic. US support for
Israel’s policies of discrimination against native Muslim and Christian
Palestinians, as well as its long-time covert support for Islamic fundamentalist movements as a counterweight to secular Arab nationalist
movements, is one of the root causes of conflict and violence in the Middle
East.”
"The current Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon come immediately after the
Hamas and Fatah factions of the Palestinian leadership jointly put forth a
peace proposal that implicitly recognized Israel, one of the alleged key
demands of both the American and Israeli governments. This unfortunately
repeats a familiar pattern of disruption of the peace process by the Israeli
leadership at key moments," Hawkins added.
A former Marine who organized opposition to the Vietnam War, Hawkins is
challenging incumbent Hillary Clinton’s hawkish policies toward Israel/Palestine, Iraq, and Iran. Hawkins is running with a "Peace Slate" of
Green Party candidates in New York, including Malachy McCourt for Governor,
Alison Duncan for Lt. Governor, Rachel Treichler for Attorney General, and
Julia Willebrand for Comptroller.
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NY Green Party Peace Slate:
Malachy McCourt for Governor
http://www.malachyforgovernor.com/
Alison Duncan for Lieutenant Governor
http://www.alisonduncan.org/blog/
Rachel Treichler for Attorney General
http://www.voterachel.org/
Julia Willebrand for Comptroller
http://www.juliaforcomptroller.org/
Howie Hawkins for US Senate from New York
http://www.hawkinsforsenate.org/
