Politics

Moulton calls Netanyahu to account in latest call for ceasefire in Gaza

The congressman said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's actions "run counter to Israel’s strategic interests, not to mention basic human decency."

By Abby Patkin

March 21, 2024

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U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton has joined several Massachusetts lawmakers in calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, voicing support for Israel’s efforts to defeat the militant Palestinian group while also slamming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “brutalist approach.”

In a statement Tuesday, the Salem Democrat faulted Netanyahu for rejecting a two-state solution, restricting humanitarian aid to war-torn Gaza, and preparing for an offensive into the city of Rafah, “where kids are dying of famine and over a million innocents have no place to go.” 

“These actions run counter to Israel’s strategic interests, not to mention basic human decency,” Moulton said.

Citing his own military experience, the congressman asserted that Netanyahu’s “brutalist approach” in Israel’s mission to defeat Hamas — which launched a surprise Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel — “will ultimately be self-defeating and has already resulted in a humanitarian crisis of epic scale.”

Yet Moulton, who has been vocal about the Israel-Hamas war since the onset, also pinned blame on Hamas for allowing the conflict to persist. 

“If Hamas continues to reject the reasonable terms of the current ceasefire-for-hostage deal on the table, the horrific violence will continue,” he said, calling on Hamas to join Israel in an immediate ceasefire and take further steps toward long-term deescalation. A two-state solution, he said, is “imperative.”

“Let’s never forget that this war would end immediately if the terrorist organization Hamas would surrender,” Moulton said. “That ceasefire deal is our best hope to avoid more death, and it is long past time for the violence to stop.”

Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Jim McGovern, Lori Trahan, and Stephen Lynch have also called for a ceasefire, as have Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey.