[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1599 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1599

    Reaffirming support for Israel as a longtime friend, ally, and 
  strategic partner of the United States and Israel's right to defend 
                                itself.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2010

 Mrs. McCarthy of New York (for herself and Mrs. Myrick) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Reaffirming support for Israel as a longtime friend, ally, and 
  strategic partner of the United States and Israel's right to defend 
                                itself.

Whereas, on May 22, 2010, a Gaza-bound flotilla, sponsored by the Turkish 
        Humanitarian Relief Foundation, Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH), set sail from 
        Istanbul, Turkey, with hopes to direct international attention to 
        Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip through a violent confrontation;
Whereas 600 passengers, including radicals with ties to terrorist groups, 
        boarded the Mavi Marmara ship in Antalya, Turkey, the lead vessel in the 
        ``Free Gaza'' flotilla;
Whereas, on May 31, 2010, after repeated warnings and assurances that aid would 
        be delivered, Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla that was 
        attempting to break through its naval blockade of Gaza;
Whereas five of the six ships involved in the flotilla cooperated peacefully, 
        but activists on the Mavi Marmara, reacted violently according to a 
        premeditated plan to incite violence;
Whereas when the first Israeli soldier was lowered by helicopter onto the Mavi 
        Marmara, militants onboard tried connecting the steel cables from the 
        overhead helicopters to the boat's antenna, in order to cause the 
        helicopters to crash;
Whereas when Israeli soldiers boarded the ship, Mavi Marmara passengers began 
        severely beating the soldiers with iron rods, chairs, and wooden poles, 
        stabbing them with knives, and trying to lynch them, throwing one 
        soldier off the deck, and taking pistols from the soldiers and firing at 
        them with deadly intent;
Whereas the Turkish aid group that sent out the flotilla, IHH, belongs to a 
        Saudi-based umbrella organization known as the Union of Good which was 
        established to finance the foreign terrorist organization Hamas;
Whereas the United States Treasury Department has designated the Union of Good 
        as supporting terrorism and has included the organization as part of 
        both the ``Designated Charities and Potential Fundraising Front 
        Organizations for FTOs'' list and the Office of Foreign Assets Control 
        (OFAC) list of ``Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons'';
Whereas, on June 14, 2010, the Government of Israel approved and launched a 
        credible investigation into the flotilla incident with two international 
        observers, Lord William David Trimble of Northern Ireland, a Nobel Peace 
        Prize Laureate, and Ken Watkin, a former judge advocate general of the 
        Canadian Armed Forces;
Whereas Israel's naval blockade of Gaza was put in place as a response to 
        thousands of rocket attacks on Israel from Hamas terrorists in Gaza, is 
        fully compliant with international law, and has succeeded in stopping 
        terrorists from smuggling weapons into Gaza from the sea that can be 
        used to murder innocent Israeli civilians;
Whereas Israel has offered to fully deliver all aid intended for Gaza, following 
        close inspection of any ship that attempts to cross its naval blockade; 
        and
Whereas Iranian Revolutionary Guard spokesman Ali Shirazi stated that the naval 
        wing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is ready to assist further 
        ``peace flotillas'' to Gaza with all its effort and capabilities: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms its strong support for Israel as a longtime 
        friend, ally, and strategic partner of the United States;
            (2) supports Israel's right to defend itself;
            (3) condemns the violent, premeditated actions of the 
        Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH);
            (4) calls upon other nations to express their support for 
        Israel's right to defend itself and condemn the actions of the 
        IHH;
            (5) expresses its hope that--
                    (A) the recent incident does not derail the 
                Israeli-Palestinian peace process;
                    (B) other nations continue to work toward steps to 
                have direct negotiations, advance a two-state solution, 
                and advance the peace process; and
                    (C) the recent incident does not stop ongoing 
                efforts to confront the on-going attempts of 
                delegitimizing Israel at the United Nations;
            (6) denounces efforts by the naval wing of the Iranian 
        Revolutionary Guard to escort future flotillas and escalate 
        future violent confrontations;
            (7) commends President Barack Obama's strong support for 
        Israel's security and his unwavering support for Israel at the 
        United Nations;
            (8) calls for continued strong United States leadership at 
        the United Nations, including the utilization of its veto 
        power, to prevent any one-sided and politically tainted 
        ``internal investigation'' from proceeding; and
            (9) encourages the Administration to consider whether the 
        IHH should be placed on the list of foreign terrorist 
        organizations and under a visa ban, after an examination by the 
        intelligence community, the U.S. Department of State, and the 
        U.S. Department of the Treasury.
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