[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 392 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 392
Expressing solidarity with Israel in its fight against terrorism.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 18, 2002
Mr. DeLay (for himself, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Gilman, Mr.
Frost, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Reynolds, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Cantor,
Mr. Waxman, Mr. Berman, Mr. Wexler, Mr. Engel, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Berkley,
Mr. Schiff, Mr. Deutsch, Mr. Nadler, and Ms. Schakowsky) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing solidarity with Israel in its fight against terrorism.
Whereas the United States and Israel are now engaged in a common struggle
against terrorism and are on the front-lines of a conflict thrust upon
them against their will;
Whereas hundreds of innocent Israelis and Palestinians have died tragically in
violence since September 2000;
Whereas Palestinian organizations are engaging in an organized, systematic, and
deliberate campaign of terror aimed at inflicting as many casualties as
possible on the Israeli population, including through the use of suicide
terrorist attacks;
Whereas the number of Israelis killed during that time by suicide terrorist
attacks alone, on a basis proportional to the United States population,
is approximately 9,000, three times the number killed in the terrorist
attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001;
Whereas Yasir Arafat and members of the Palestinian leadership have failed to
abide by their commitments to nonviolence made in the Israel-PLO
Declaration of Principles (the ``Oslo accord'') of September 1993,
including their pledges (1) to adhere strictly to ``a peaceful
resolution of the conflict,'' (2) to resolve ``all outstanding issues
relating to permanent status through negotiations,'' (3) to renounce
``the use of terrorism and other acts of violence,'' and (4) to ``assume
responsibility over all PLO elements and personnel in order to assure
their compliance [with the commitment to nonviolence], prevent violence,
and discipline violators'';
Whereas the continued terrorism and incitement committed, supported, and
coordinated by official arms of the Palestinian Authority are a direct
violation of these commitments;
Whereas forces directly under Yasir Arafat's control--particularly, the al-Aqsa
Martyrs Brigades, which is part of Arafat's Fatah organization and has
been designated a ``Foreign Terrorist Organization'' by the United
States government--have murdered scores of innocent Israelis;
Whereas Yasir Arafat was directly involved in the Palestinian Authority's
thwarted attempt to obtain 50 tons of offensive weapons shipped from
Iran in the Karine-A, an effort that irrefutably proved Arafat's embrace
of the use and escalation of violence;
Whereas documents seized by Israel from offices of the Palestinian Authority
demonstrate the crucial financial support the Palestinian Authority
continues to provide for terrorist acts, including suicide bombers;
Whereas the recent escalation of Palestinian attacks, killing 46 Israelis during
the week of Passover, included a heinous suicide-bombing at a religious
ceremony which killed 27 and wounded more than a hundred, many
critically, and was perpetrated by a known terrorist whom Israel had
previously asked Yasir Arafat to arrest;
Whereas this suicide attack occurred at the very time United States envoy
General Anthony Zinni was attempting to negotiate a cease-fire that
would lead to the resumption of Israeli-Palestinians political
negotiations;
Whereas, just before the Passover attack, Israel had agreed to General Zinni's
cease-fire proposals, whereas Yasir Arafat rejected them;
Whereas Yasir Arafat continues to incite terror by, for example, saying of the
Passover suicide bomber, ``Oh God, give me a martyrdom like this'';
Whereas Yasir Arafat and the PLO have a long history of making and breaking
anti-terrorism pledges;
Whereas President George W. Bush declared at a joint session of Congress on
September 20, 2001, that ``[f]rom this day forward, any nation that
continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United
States as a hostile regime'';
Whereas President Bush recently stated that he ``fully understands Israel's need
to defend herself'' and that he ``respect(s)'' the fact that Israelis
have ``seen a wave of suicide bombers coming to the heart of their
cities and killing innocent people'';
Whereas President Bush, in his speech of April 4, 2002, stated that ``the
situation in which he [Arafat] finds himself today is largely of his own
making''; that Arafat ``missed his opportunities, and thereby betrayed
the hopes of the people he's supposed to lead''; and that, ``[g]iven his
[Arafat's] failure, the Israeli government feels it must strike at
terrorist networks that are killing its citizens'';
Whereas Israel's military operations are an effort to defend itself against the
unspeakable horrors of ongoing terrorism and are aimed only at
dismantling the terrorist infrastructure in the Palestinian areas, an
obligation Arafat himself undertook but failed to carry out; and
Whereas Israel has made clear its intention to withdraw from Palestinian areas
and has already begun to do so: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) stands in solidarity with Israel as it takes necessary
steps to provide security to its people by dismantling the
terrorist infrastructure in the Palestinian areas;
(2) remains committed to Israel's right to self-defense and
supports additional United States assistance to help Israel
defend itself;
(3) condemns the recent wave of Palestinian suicide
bombings;
(4) condemns the ongoing support and coordination of terror
by Yasir Arafat and other members of the Palestinian
leadership;
(5) demands that the Palestinian Authority at last fulfill
its commitment to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in the
Palestinian areas, including any such infrastructure associated
with PLO and Palestinian Authority entities tied directly to
Yasir Arafat;
(6) is gravely concerned that Arafat's actions are not
those of a viable partner for peace;
(7) urges all Arab states to declare their unqualified
opposition to all forms of terrorism, particularly suicide
bombing;
(8) commends the President for his leadership in addressing
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly the efforts of
the Administration to engage countries throughout the region to
condemn and prevent terrorism and to prevent a widening of the
conflict; and
(9) urges all parties in the region to pursue vigorously
efforts to establish a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace
in the Middle East.
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