Washington , DC ? U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today issued the following statement:

?By initiating a campaign to kidnap Israeli soldiers and launch rocket attacks inside Israel , Hamas and Hezbollah, with assistance from Syria and Iran , threaten to destabilize the Middle East and trigger a wider conflict. Like any country, Israel has the right and the obligation to defend its citizens. The latest round of violence only underscores the need for high-level and sustained American diplomacy that has been sorely lacking.?

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