Dem Rep. Jonathan Jackson: We Need ‘Immediate Ceasefire’ — Israel Doesn’t Necessarily Have Right to Go on Offense

On Thursday’s broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) stated that while Israel has a right to defend itself and it is crucial that the hostages taken by Hamas should be released, “there should be an immediate ceasefire” and “defense is not necessarily on the offense. It is a protective measure.”

Jackson said, “What I’m focused on is the fact that there should be an immediate ceasefire. I agree with the United Nations secretary general and a growing body of people that want to see hostages released, want to see humanitarian aid sent into the Gaza Strip. That’s our focus right now. We want to have a de-escalation of the violence. And so, what we’re seeing is mounting death tolls, maybe 1,400 Israelis that have been killed, over 3,000 Palestinians, and as the Israeli government gets ready for a ground offensive, we’re very much concerned about how do we protect the life of innocent civilians. Hamas is not the Palestinians. The two need to be separated. This was an intelligence failure that we first have to address. Currently, I’d like to see stronger defense provided for Israel. I’d like to see justice, if you will, for the humanitarian efforts, for those in Palestine, a million people have been dislocated in the last week, in the last eleven days. They have to get aid. Water is running short, food is running short, and there is medical equipment, there [are] medical supplies at the border that cannot get into the Gaza area. The people are really caged in now. So, we’re seeking diplomacy, the deterrence of the warships, and to bring the de-escalation into the entire region.”

Co-host Poppy Harlow then asked if calling for a ceasefire contradicts saying Israel has a right to self-defense.

Jackson answered, “Well, defense is not necessarily on the offense. It is a protective measure. Diplomacy is [what] we’d like to see strengthened. As we speak right now, the United States does not have a confirmed ambassador from the United States to Israel. We do not have a confirmed ambassador from the United States to Egypt. We should strengthen our diplomacy efforts.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett