Do Arizona’s Congress members support Israel’s siege on Gaza? Here's what they are saying
Israel vowed Oct. 9, two days after attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas killed more than 1,000 Israeli civilians, to cut off the flow of food, water, and fuel to 2 million Gaza residents, around half of whom are children.
“I have given an order — Gaza will be under complete siege,” Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant said. “We are fighting barbarians and will respond accordingly.”
That’s on top of an Israeli bombing campaign that has killed more than 5,000 people, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health, and which Israeli officials say is preparation for an eventual ground invasion.
U.N. human rights authorities have said that, just like Hamas’ targeting of civilians, Israel’s decision to deny civilians supplies that are essential for survival likely is a violation of international law.
U.S. lawmakers’ response has been fractured, with some calling on Israel to end its blockade, others supporting it, and most keeping a low profile on the issue.
Here’s where Arizona’s Capitol Hill delegation stands on the siege.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a progressive, opposes the Israeli siege
Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., is the only one of Arizona’s nine representatives and two senators who publicly has called for an end to Israel’s siege of Gaza.
“He believes that Israel has a right to protect itself, we must do whatever we can to help release the hostages, and he also supports ending the siege of Gaza in order to allow for humanitarian aid to enter and further prevent a humanitarian catastrophe,” a Grijalva spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Arizona Republic.
After the blockade was first announced, Grijalva signed a letter along with 54 other Democratic lawmakers saying he was “deeply concerned” about its impact on non-combatants.
“As both the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights said, imposing a complete siege on Gaza and depriving 2.3 million Palestinian civilians who have nowhere else to go — half of whom are children — of food, water and electricity, would be a violation of international humanitarian law,” the letter reads.
Unlike some of his colleagues in the House Progressive Caucus, Grijalva has not joined calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. He instead signed onto a letter endorsing the Biden administration’s handling of the issue, and says he plans to support Biden’s military aid request for Israel.
What most members of the Arizona delegation say about Israeli siege
Like President Joe Biden, most of Arizona’s lawmakers state their support for humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, but they have not publicly opposed Israel’s decision to halt the flow of food, water, and fuel to millions of civilians.
Most of them have joined calls to open a humanitarian corridor with Egypt, which could alleviate the impacts of the blockade. They declined to directly answer whether Israel should stop the siege, which is driving the immense need for humanitarian aid in the first place.
That includes the state’s two senators, independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, and three of its representatives: Reps. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., and Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz.
Asked whether Israel should end its siege, Sinema’s office sent a statement saying “Israel has the right to defend herself, and I firmly support our strongest ally in the region as she roots out terrorism.”
“Israel has the right to defend itself and its people. That includes taking necessary action to free the hostages currently held in Gaza–some of whom are Americans,” Gallego’s office said in response to the same question.
Stanton’s office noted that he has been in contact with the administrator of the U.S. humanitarian relief and development agency about protecting civilians from military action.
Ciscomani suggested in a statement that the humanitarian toll was attributable to Hamas, not Israel, writing that “innocent civilians are paying the price for Hamas’ unprovoked violence" and that “it’s critical that we carefully consider how to aid innocent civilians in the region” when crafting an aid package.
Republican Reps. David Schweikert, Debbie Lesko and Andy Biggs did not respond to The Arizona Republic's multiple requests for comment.
Some Republicans suggest they support the siege
Asked whether he believes Israel should end its siege, Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., appeared to endorse the siege as a necessary part of the country's self-defense.
“Israel is in a difficult position. Its enemy does not abide by international law or norms. But Israel is expected to,” Gosar wrote in a statement. “This places Israel in a no-win situation: eliminate Hamas as a threat while being condemned for rights violations or abide by its critics’ request for 'proportional' warfare which means leaving Hamas intact to kill again.”
Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., said that it was not his place to weigh in on whether Israel should end the siege.
“It’s dangerously prescriptive to tell an ally how they should or shouldn’t defend themselves — particularly when they’re defending themselves from barbaric terrorists,” Crane wrote in a statement.
Israel has maintained a partial blockade on Gaza since Hamas took control of the enclave 16 years ago, restricting the movement of people and goods by land, sea, and air. The country has argued those measures are necessary to protect their populations against militants; humanitarian groups decry them as creating an “open-air prison” for civilians inside.
Since the fighting began two weeks ago, Biden has reportedly pushed Israel towards greater restraint, including successfully pressuring the country to restore the water supply to the southern Gaza Strip and allow around 50 aid trucks to enter the region. Biden had mentioned the importance of “international humanitarian law” in public remarks, but he has stopped short of explicitly opposing the blockade.
“When America experienced the hell of 9/11, we felt enraged as well, and while we sought and got justice, we made mistakes,” Biden said in a recent televised speech. “So I caution the government of Israel not to be blinded by rage.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Do Arizona's Congress members support Israel’s siege on Gaza
