Dear Senator:  (also sent to Representatives)

Even as the war with Iraq goes forward, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to traumatize the Israeli and Palestinian people with reverberations that impact the region and the United States. Recently, the President provided renewed impetus to the Quartet's Middle East peace plan (known as the "road map").  This was a welcome sign that the United States is willing to move forward with much-needed steps toward the creation of a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel - if the Palestinians and Israelis also demonstrate their willingness.  It is essential that the Administration receive the support of the Congress as it paves the way for peacemaking among Israelis and Palestinians.

As the New York Times correctly stated in an editorial on January 2, "Just as terrorism is the greatest Palestinian obstacle to Middle East peace, so the settlements established in the territories captured in the 1967 war are the greatest Israeli obstacle."  The Congress has fully supported the Administration's efforts to stop terrorist acts by Palestinian individuals and organizations.  The Congress should now support the Administration in its call for Israel to stop settlement activity in the occupied territories.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, speaking in late January in Davos, stated that he has informed the Israelis that "a Palestinian state, when it's created, must be a real state, not a phony state that's diced into a thousand different pieces."  Settlements - with their bypass roads, check points and security requirements - make a viable Palestinian state impossible.

As you consider the President's request for Iraq-war related expenses, which includes additional aid to Israel, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) urges to you to articulate the United States' position that Israel's settlement policy end immediately in order that a peace process can go forward. CMEP asks you to support placing meaningful conditions on new aid to Israel, conditions that will require Prime Minister Sharon to stop all settlement activity immediately and to begin the process of returning the settlers to Israel.

This action would signal to nations in the Middle East and to the world that the United States is committed to a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Sincerely,