[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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