Israel is revoking the residency rights of Hamas lawmakers who are living in East Jerusalem. The Israeli action is in response to the April 17th terrorist bombing in Tel Aviv. Nine Israelis were killed and dozens injured in that attack. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack says the U.S. "position is that the Israeli government has the right to defend the Israeli people":
"We, as always, ask them [the Israelis] to consider the effect of their actions upon the. . . .future prospects for peace. That position is longstanding and unchanged. I would note that Secretary [of State] Condoleezza] Rice did. . . .speak with [Israeli] Foreign Minister Livni to express our condolences for those who lost loved ones in that bombing, as well as to wish a speedy recovery to those injured and she also condemned that bombing."
While Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack, representatives of Hamas, the terrorist group that won a parliamentary majority in the January election, defended it. State Department spokesman McCormack says that "When given the opportunity to condemn the bombing," Hamas, he says, "condoned it":
"This, I think, is a window into the true nature of the thinking of this regime, a regime that is condoning, if not encouraging sending teenagers to go blow up other teenagers which is, I think, something that puts in stark relief for the international community what exactly the nature of this Hamas government is."
State Department spokesman McCormack says, "The burden of responsibility for preventing terrorist attacks rests with the Palestinian Authority. A Palestinian government that encourages or tolerates terrorism against innocent men, women, and children," he says, "not only increases violence against the Israelis, but does great harm to the interests of the Palestinian people, ensuring their further isolation."
The preceding was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government.
