[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 951 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                         March 5, 2008.
Whereas more than 4,000 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Israel from 
        the Gaza Strip by Hamas and other terrorist organizations since Israeli 
        forces withdrew from there in 2005;
Whereas, since January 1, 2008, terrorists have fired nearly a thousand rockets 
        and mortar shells into Israel;
Whereas the near-daily rocket fire has been targeted primarily and intentionally 
        at civilian communities in Israel, such as Sderot and Ashkelon, making 
        life in such areas agonizing;
Whereas the terrorist rockets have hit homes, schools, buildings, roads, power 
        lines, and other such infrastructure in Israel;
Whereas these unprovoked rocket and mortar attacks have murdered over a dozen 
        Israelis, inflicted hundreds of casualties, produced thousands of cases 
        of shock and post-traumatic stress, especially among children, and 
        caused severe disruption of daily life;
Whereas these deliberate cross-border rocket and mortar attacks on civilian 
        populations constitute a blatant violation of human rights and 
        international law;
Whereas those responsible for launching rocket attacks against Israel routinely 
        embed their production facilities and launch sites amongst the 
        Palestinian civilian population, utilizing them as human shields;
Whereas intentionally targeting civilian populations and the use of human 
        shields violates international humanitarian and human rights law;
Whereas numerous reports have cited the copious amounts of sophisticated 
        weapons, small arms, and weapons manufacturing materials that have been 
        smuggled into Gaza through Egypt;
Whereas public reports have cited the role of Iran and Syria in providing 
        material support and training to those carrying out rocket and other 
        terrorist attacks from Gaza;
Whereas public reports have referenced the increased flow of ammunition, 
        explosives, and higher-grade weapons into the Gaza Strip as a result of 
        Hamas' breach of the 12-kilometer security fence separating Gaza from 
        Egyptian Sinai on January 23, 2008;
Whereas it was reported that after the breach of the Egyptian-Gaza border, many 
        Palestinian terrorists who had trained in Syria and Iran returned to 
        Gaza;
Whereas the fielding and use of longer-range rockets by Hamas and other 
        terrorist organizations to reach larger Israeli cities represents a 
        dangerous expansion of the organizations' offensive capabilities and an 
        escalation of the terrorist attacks on Israel;
Whereas the Government of Israel's military operations in Gaza only target Hamas 
        and other terrorist organizations;
Whereas the inadvertent inflicting of civilian casualties as a result of 
        defensive military operations aimed at military targets, while deeply 
        regrettable, is not at all morally equivalent to the deliberate 
        targeting of civilian populations as practiced by Hamas and other Gaza-
        based terrorist groups; and
Whereas the situation in the Gaza Strip remains a threat to international 
        security and regional stability: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) strongly condemns--
                    (A) Hamas, which controls Gaza, and other Palestinian 
                terrorist organizations for the ongoing rocket attacks on 
                Israeli civilians and continued human rights violations;
                    (B) state sponsors of terror, such as Iran and Syria, for 
                enabling Palestinian terrorist organizations to carry out 
                attacks against innocent Israeli civilians; and
                    (C) the use of innocent Palestinian civilians as human 
                shields by those who carry out rocket and other attacks;
            (2) expresses condolences to the families of the innocent victims on 
        both sides of the conflict;
            (3) supports the sovereign right of the Government of Israel to 
        defend its territory against attacks;
            (4) expresses sympathy and support for innocent Palestinian 
        civilians who reject all forms of terrorism and desire to live in peace 
        with their Israeli neighbors but who continue to be utilized as human 
        shields by terrorist organizations;
            (5) considers rocket attacks against Israel and the fostering of 
        terrorism in the Palestinian territories as direct and serious 
        impediments to the achievement of Israeli-Palestinian peace;
            (6) calls on the President to--
                    (A) direct the United States Permanent Representative to the 
                United Nations to introduce a resolution within the United 
                Nations Security Council condemning Palestinian rocket and other 
                attacks against innocent Israeli civilians; and
                    (B) direct the Secretary of State to raise this issue in all 
                applicable bilateral and international fora;
            (7) calls on responsible countries and United States allies in the 
        Middle East to officially and publicly condemn Palestinian rocket 
        attacks and other terrorist actions against Israel; and
            (8) reaffirms the strong and unyielding friendship between the 
        Governments and the people of Israel and the United States.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.