AIPAC Applauds US House Resolution Calling For Negotiated Settlement To Israel Palestine Conflict

Israel News Agency / Google News ^ | December 16, 2010 | Joel Leyden

[IsraelBeach]

AIPAC Applauds US House Resolution Calling For Negotiated Settlement To Israel Palestine Conflict

By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency

Jerusalem, Israel ---- December 16, 2010 ...... The following was partly communicated by AIPAC to the Israel News Agency.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) supported yesterday’s passage of a US House resolution supporting a negotiated settlement to the Israel Palestine conflict, while discouraging efforts to circumvent that process.

"The resolution passed by voice vote," said a written statement by AIPAC. "AIPAC supports the House’s call for a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its strong opposition to efforts to seek recognition of a Palestinian state outside of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement."

AIPAC quoted US President Barack Obama saying:“The only path to lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians is direct talks.”

"Unfortunately, it has been three months since Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has been willing to sit down, face-to-face with his Israel counterpart," said the AIPAC statement. "Israel has proven it is prepared to make significant sacrifices for a real peace with its neighbors. But such an accord can only be reached through sustained and direct talks."

AIPAC added: "We join the US House in support of the Obama Administration’s opposition to a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state and join it in calling on the US Administration to persuade other nations to oppose such a declaration. AIPAC commends the leadership of the sponsors of the resolution: House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA), Reps. Ted Poe (R-TX), Shelley Berkley (DNV), Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Gary Ackerman (D-NY) and Dan Burton (R-IN)."

For more than half a century, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has worked to help make Israel more secure by ensuring that American support remains strong. From a small pro-Israel public affairs boutique in the 1950s, AIPAC has grown into a 100,000-member national grassroots movement described by The New York Times as "the most important organization affecting America's relationship with Israel."

The core of AIPAC's mission is building a base of citizen advocates who team with AIPAC's professional staff to educate America's elected officials, policy makers and opinion leaders.

AIPAC is registered as a domestic lobby and supported financially by private donations. The organization receives no financial assistance from Israel, from any national organization or any foreign group. AIPAC is not a political action committee. It does not rate, endorse or contribute to candidates.

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