Washington, D.C., July 7 -- The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) today urged the Bush administration to exert all efforts to address the spiraling violence in Gaza that led yesterday to the deaths of twenty-two Palestinians, many of them civilians and children.

ATFP reiterates again that there is no military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The inflicting of more death and destruction on the hapless and innocent Palestinian civilian population of Gaza, and the firing of rockets into Israel will only ensure further escalation. UN special rapporteur on human rights John Dugard has labeled Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip as collective punishment and "violating the most fundamental norms of humanitarian and human rights law."

"Buffer zones and punitive measures against an entire civilian population in the pursuit of security are policies that have been tried and failed before," ATFP president Dr. Ziad Asali said. He added: "Immediate U.S. intervention is needed to bring about a negotiated resolution to the current crisis."