Churches for Middle East Peace applauds Price-LaHood resolution urging peace between Israel and Palestinians

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Warren Clark, 202-543-1222; warren@cmep.org
[Washington, DC- May 15, 2008] Churches for Middle East Peace commends Representatives David Price (D-NC) and Ray Lahood (R-IL), and the 50 other Members of the House who joined them, for sending a letter to President Bush yesterday urging efforts to end the crisis in southern Israel and Gaza and enable progress on Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.
The Price-Lahood letter comes amidst a new outbreak of Gaza-Israel violence and as the President begins a Middle East trip that provides an opportunity to move forward on the Annapolis process launched last November. The letter asserts that for "the peace process to be viable, solutions must be found to stabilize the Gaza situation, preserve the achievements made in peace talks, and maintain forward momentum." It suggests that such solutions must include international condemnation of the rocket attacks on southern Israel, an exploration of a potential ceasefire to stop the violence and an end to the border blockade that addresses Israel's security needs and provides humanitarian relief to the people of Gaza.
Praising the Congressional letter, CMEP Executive Director, Warren Clark said: "The situation on the ground in the Holy Land needs to improve now if Israelis and Palestinians are going to have sufficient trust and confidence to do the hard work of peacemaking. We commend Reps. Price and Lahood and their 50 colleagues for offering bipartisan support for constructive solutions that can help provide a climate conducive to negotiations. We join them in urging the President to use his trip to re-energize the Annapolis process."
A May 9th CMEP letter to President Bush also highlights current obstacles to moving forward on the peace process, including the "death and suffering in Gaza and in southern Israel" and raises concerns regarding movement and access in the West Bank, which "undermines Palestinian leadership that seeks peace with Israel."
Churches for Middle East Peace, a coalition of 22 Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant national church bodies, has strongly supported the Price-Lahood letter together with a range of Jewish and Arab- American organizations, including Americans for Peace Now, the Arab American Institute, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, Israel Policy Forum and J Street.
For the full text of the Price-Lahood letter and a final list of signers or for the CMEP May 9th letter, please contact CMEP's Executive Director, Warren Clark, at 202-543-1222 or warren@cmep.org.
###

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is a coalition of 22 Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant church bodies and organizations that work together in pursuit of a peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict where two viable states, Israel and Palestine, live side-by-side within secure and recognized borders.

email: info@cmep.org
phone: 202-543-1222 web: http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001ZM9vypu1SIiI15Nwnh2RH-ku6SZzOkMfZKJBm9Z1cHpchP7x7__i7FSt9MPp9HY6P8sIW2pC8Qw7MCWVVlaE_kYOv0DCXpUYvZifGcEddo8=