109 HRES 56 IH: Commending the Palestinian people for conducting a free and fair presidential election on January 9, 2005, and for other purposes. U.S. House of Representatives 2005-02-01 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 109th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 56 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 1, 2005 Mr. Blunt (for himself, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Pence, and Mr. Gene Green of Texas) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations RESOLUTION Commending the Palestinian people for conducting a free and fair presidential election on January 9, 2005, and for other purposes.

Whereas on January 9, 2005, the Palestinian people elected Mahmoud Abbas as the second President of the Palestinian Authority; Whereas this election has been hailed as free and fair and is an important and noteworthy step in advancing democracy in the Arab world; Whereas Israel should be commended for facilitating the Palestinian election proceedings; Whereas the United States is hopeful that a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be achieved; Whereas the United States is strongly committed to the security of Israel and its well-being as a Jewish state; and Whereas on June 24, 2002, President George W. Bush expressed his vision of two states living side by side in peace and security and that vision can only be fully realized when terrorism is defeated, so that a new state may be created based on the rule of law and respect for human rights: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1)commends the Palestinian people for conducting a free and fair presidential election on January 9, 2005; (2)congratulates the new Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas; (3)urges the new Palestinian leadership to continue to advance democratic ideals by reforming the Palestinian political structure, advancing human rights, and ending corruption; (4)strongly condemns terrorism and urges President Mahmoud Abbas, who has previously disavowed terrorism, to immediately take steps to dismantle the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure, confiscate unauthorized weapons, arrest and bring terrorists to justice, consolidate and control the many Palestinian security organizations, and end the incitement to violence and hatred in the Palestinian media, educational institutions, mosques, and other institutions; (5)urges Arab states to take active steps to encourage and assist the Palestinian Authority in bringing an end to terrorism and an end to anti-Israel incitement in their own media; and (6)encourages all interested parties to take advantage of this historic opportunity to remove obstacles to achieving a lasting peace in the Middle East.