[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 294 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                         June 25, 2003.
Whereas Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) announced 
        at the June 4, 2003, Aqaba Summit, ``Our goal is clear, and we will 
        implement it firmly and without compromise: a complete end to violence 
        and terrorism'';
Whereas Prime Minister Abbas also pledged at the Aqaba Summit to establish a 
        system based on ``rule of law, [a] single political authority, [and] 
        weapons only in the hands of those who are in charge of upholding the 
        law and order . . .'';
Whereas the Middle East roadmap begins with the assertion that ``A two state 
        solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will only be achieved 
        through an end to violence and terrorism (when the Palestinian people 
        have a leadership acting decisively against terror and willing and able 
        to build a practicing democracy based on tolerance and liberty)'';
Whereas 22 innocent Israelis nevertheless were murdered and scores wounded in 
        three separate suicide bombings within less than a week after the Aqaba 
        Summit, and the death toll from these terrorist actions is the 
        equivalent of 1,100 on the basis of the United States population, nearly 
        ten times the number of battle deaths the United States suffered in the 
        recent Iraq War;
Whereas Palestinians are also victims of these terrorists, who undermine 
        prospects for a just and lasting peace;
Whereas Islamic fundamentalist Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad consistently 
        make clear their opposition to Israel's existence in any form and within 
        any borders and their determination to use violence and terrorism to 
        achieve their anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic goals, and Hamas leader Abdel 
        Aziz Rantisi vowed ``not to leave one Jew in Palestine'';
Whereas experience with terrorism demonstrates that there can be no productive 
        negotiations or dialogue with terrorists and that a policy based on 
        compromise with terrorists can only be doomed to failure;
Whereas the concept of ``cycle of violence'', which implies moral equivalence 
        between terrorists and their victims, should be rejected as a 
        description of Israeli-Palestinian dynamics, since Palestinian terrorism 
        justifies Israeli counterterrorist operations as the response of a 
        legitimate government defending its citizens;
Whereas Israeli counterterrorist operations would cease entirely were 
        Palestinian terrorism to cease; and
Whereas Israel has no choice but to use its own measures to fight terrorism if 
        the Palestinians are unwilling to do so: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns in the harshest terms the recent terrorist actions that 
        victimized innocent Israelis;
            (2) expresses solidarity with the Israeli people as they respond to 
        ongoing terrorist attacks;
            (3) expresses sympathy to the families of innocent Israelis and 
        Palestinians who have lost their lives;
            (4) commends the President of the United States for his vision of 
        two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and 
        security;
            (5) affirms that this vision can be fully realized only once 
        terrorism is defeated, so that a new state may be created based on rule 
        of law and respect for human rights;
            (6) recognizes and respects Israel's right to fight terrorism and 
        acknowledges Israel's fight against terrorism as part of the global war 
        against terrorism;
            (7) calls on all states to cease recognition of and political and 
        material support for any Palestinian and other terrorist groups;
            (8) calls on all states immediately to establish effective 
        mechanisms to ensure that funding from private citizens cannot be 
        directed to terrorist groups for any purpose whatsoever, including 
        ostensible humanitarian purposes;
            (9) calls on all states to provide support to the Palestinian 
        Authority in its effort to confront and fight terror; and
            (10) calls on all states to assist the Palestinian people in 
        creating the institutions of a democratic state that will respect the 
        rule of law and live in peace with its neighbors.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.