From Terry Hansen

Grafton

To the Editor:

Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania recently stated that he would leave the Democratic Party if it became anti-Israel and did not support Israel’s right to defend itself.

But destroying the means of sustaining human life in Gaza is not self-defense. This includes Israel’s devastation of Gaza’s fields, orchards, greenhouses, water infrastructure and homes.

After the ceasefire began, Israel destroyed an additional 1,500 buildings in Gaza. Multiple United Nations agencies and humanitarian groups also report that Israel has blocked or severely restricted shelter supplies, including tarps, timber, plywood, and sandbags from entering the Gaza Strip. Families are forced to live in permanent tent cities, with their makeshift homes infested with rats and parasites.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, “We are disassembling Gaza, and leaving it as piles of rubble...And the world isn’t stopping us.”

Being pro-Israel should not mean downplaying or denying the atrocities Israel has committed.