(Washington, DC) -  Congresswoman Corrine Brown made the following statement:

“I am deeply saddened by the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and am extremely concerned about the hundreds of innocent civilians that have been killed or wounded on both sides of the conflict thus far.  I wholeheartedly believe the nation of Israel has the right to defend itself against the barrage of rocket attacks launched by Hamas, as well as against the constant threat of terrorism carried out by Hamas and its regional allies, Iran and Syria.       

Since I came to Washington as Florida’s third district representative in 1993, I have been a strong supporter of the State of Israel.  My first congressional trip in fact, was a CODEL with AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) to Israel, where I was most impressed by the country’s beauty, history, and of course, its people.  I have always voted 100% in favor of all issues relating to Israel, such as legislation relating to funding, or Resolutions calling for Israel’s right to defend itself and condemning terrorist attacks against Israel (including H Res 34, which passed the House last Friday, January 8th, and declared that Congress ‘recognizes Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza, reaffirms the United States' strong support for Israel, and supports the Israeli-Palestinian peace process’).  Just last year, when I traveled on a House Transportation Committee CODEL to Egypt, I met with Egyptian officials and discussed issues such as Gaza and the troubled relationship between the Palestinians, the Arab World, and the State of Israel. 

We need to make every effort to end Hamas’ rocket attacks into Israel and work for there to be a plan in place to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled into Gaza from Egypt.  If that is achieved, it is my intention to work for a durable peace that will put a permanent end to the regional violence and war.”

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