John Boehner Vows: The House Will Always Stand With Israel [video]

At the same time that Secretary of State John Kerry and the U.N. were proposing an unconditional ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, without addressing the threat of Hamas infiltration via the tunnels, House Speaker John Boehner spoke on Monday of the U.S. House of Representatives’ solid commitment to stand with Israel.

John Kerry’s proposal echoes President Barack Obama’s weekend phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which, reports the Associated Press, calls on Israel to agree to an “immediate, unconditional, humanitarian cease-fire,” a plan that has met with heated criticism from the Israeli press, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and Speaker John Boehner.

It’s not just House Republicans and John Boehner who are reacting strongly to these actions which undermine Israel. In a bipartisan show of support for Israel, Senators from both the Democratic and Republican parties issued a letter to the President insisting that “a cease-fire must eliminate Hamas’ ability to fire rockets into Israel and place no restrictions on the Jewish state.” The letter was signed by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer and Ben Cardin.

In a statement that is at odds with Kerry and Obama’s recent words to Israel, the Senators wrote, “Israel must be allowed to take any actions necessary to remove those threats.”

House Speaker John Boehner has made it clear that the current treatment of the U.S. ally is unacceptable, and vows support for Israel.

“In times like this, people try to isolate Israel — but we are here to stand with Israel. Not just as a broker or observer — but as a strong partner and a trusted ally.”

In a jab clearly aimed at Kerry’s recent proposal, reports ABC, Boehner clarifies, “What does that mean? Well, it doesn’t mean using vague, on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand statements. No, it means backing up our words, and showing our solidarity with our friend.”

Israel has come under sharp criticism in recent days for its actions in defending herself, in part because of the high number of civilian casualties, casualties that Israeli officials have said are direct results of the practice of Hamas embedding its weapons within civilian areas, such as schools, hospitals, mosques, and neighborhoods.

While hiding military operations behind civilians, including women and children, the Gatestone Institute reports that Israeli intelligence has recently discovered that Hamas has been carefully planning a terrorist attack by building an intricate system of underground tunnels leading from Gaza into Israel. In what is being called a plan for a “terror attack of immeasurable proportions” against Israel.

The Inquisitr reports that over the last decade, Hamas has been plotting to unleash unprecedented attacks on Israel on Rosh Hashana via these tunnels, infiltrating the country dressed as IDF agents, in a coordinated attack to massacre and kidnap Israeli citizens on a massive scale.

An unconditional ceasefire would negate Israel’s ability to destroy these tunnels and eliminate this threat to its people, acknowledges Boehner, as well as the constant threat of missiles being launched at Israel from the Gaza Strip by Hamas.

“That is why,” John Boehner says, “the House will always support Israel’s right to defend itself. We will not equate professional militaries with terrorist organizations that use human shields and seek to maximize civilian casualties. And we insist that the demilitarization of Gaza be not just a House goal but a shared, uncompromising U.S. and international objective. We take this stand because we know that without demilitarization, the pattern of escalation, conflict, targeting of innocent civilians, and humanitarian suffering will continue.

“To achieve these objectives, the House will continue to back funding for Iron Dome to ensure Israel’s ability to protect its own people. And we will continue to push the administration to address the root cause of the conflict in the Middle East.”

“Because, make no mistake, what we are seeing in Gaza is a direct result of Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism in the region. All we have to do is look at the ferocity of the fight and the sophistication of the weapons. This is part of Iran’s long history of providing rockets and rocket parts to Gaza-based terrorist organizations, another cycle that must come to an end.”

Speaker John Boehner concludes his impassioned speech with a vow of support for Israel that is reminiscent of the Biblical declaration that God will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel.

“America must send this clear, public, and united message: Israel is our friend, and Israel’s enemies are our enemies.” Boehner promises: “as long as I am Speaker of the House, I give you my word this will be our cause.”

[images via Stand for Israel, Right Wing News, and Tikun Olam]