Dorsey: We ‘unequivocally… condemn all of the violence that has been targeted at non-combatants’

Arlington’s first public statement on the Israel-Hamas war came during a County Board work session Tuesday afternoon.

Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey spoke about the latest Middle East violence — which has left more than 1,000 dead on both sides of the Gaza border after starting with a surprise Hamas attack on Israeli civilians — at the start of a work session on commercial resiliency.

Dorsey’s full statement is below.

I should also note before we begin our work session this afternoon, we convene under the specter of escalating violence and war in the Middle East. We know that that is something that personally affects many in this community. And while this is not the time or the forum to get into a deeper discussion on factors that are concerning the Middle East, we can say unequivocally that we condemn all of the violence that has been targeted at non-combatants and civilians that has caused many to be kidnapped and many to be murdered, and we hope that the violence de-escalates quickly without further loss of significant life to civilian populations there. That’s all I’m prepared to say at this point, and unfortunately, there’s no great segue to talking about our subject matter today.

Last night the mayors of neighboring D.C. and Alexandria posted photos of a bridge and city hall, respectively, lit up in blue in solidarity with Israel.

Asked whether extra security measures are being put in place in light of the Middle East conflict, Arlington County police spokeswoman Ashley Savage said the department is monitoring the situation.

“There are currently no known threats in Arlington County and our officers are on duty conducting proactive patrols throughout Arlington,” Savage told ARLnow. “We have been, and will remain, in contact with Jewish faith-based communities in Arlington regarding any public safety needs or concerns they may have.”

“Our department continues to monitor the conflict and remains connected with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners on information sharing,” she continued.