IV 112th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 244 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 3, 2011 Mr. Hastings of Florida submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a Palestinian government which includes Hamas should be prohibited from receiving United States aid until that government publicly commits to the Quartet principles.

Whereas, on April 27, 2011, Fatah and Hamas initialed a document of understandings as a foundation for a Palestinian National Accord agreement, to be signed by all of the Palestinian factions on May 4 in Cairo, under the aegis of the Egyptian transitional government and with the presence of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas Political Bureau head Khaled Mash'al; Whereas the document of understandings, signed by the head of the Fatah party in the Palestinian Legislative Council, Azzam Al-Ahmad, and by the deputy head of Hamas's Political Bureau, Moussa Abu Marzouq, has not yet been released to the public; Whereas Fatah negotiator Azzam Al-Ahmad has said that Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who has been a leader in developing the Palestinian economy in the West Bank as well as a primary peace negotiator with Israel, will not be a part of the interim unity government; Whereas, on Al-Jazeera TV on April 27, 2011, Foreign Minister of the Hamas Gaza Government and a member of the Hamas delegation to the Cairo discussions Mahmoud Al-Zahhar said, We believe that negotiations with the Israeli enemy are in vain. … It will be impossible for an interim government to take part in the peace process with Israel; Whereas Hamas has been a designated terrorist organization by the United States (1995) and European Union (2003), for embracing violence and calling for the destruction of Israel in the Hamas Charter; Whereas terrorists under the aegis of Hamas have murdered hundreds of innocent Israelis, kidnapped and refused Red Cross access to Israeli soldiers, smuggled Iranian arms into the Gaza Strip, and launched thousands of rockets and mortars into Israel, including more than 300 since the beginning of 2011; Whereas the negotiating principles of the Quartet (the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and the Russian Federation) require Hamas to recognize Israel’s right to exist, renounce violence, and accept previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements; Whereas Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in April 2009 that the United States would not deal with, nor in any way fund, a Palestinian government that includes Hamas unless and until Hamas has renounced violence, recognized Israel and agreed to follow the previous obligations of the Palestinian Authority; and Whereas in a personal call to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli President Shimon Peres said, I urge the Palestinian leadership: Unite for peace and don't put on a facade of unity that will prevent you from moving in any direction. Walking hand-in-hand with a terrorist organization will be a step backwards and will prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state: Now, therefore, be it

That— (1)the House of Representatives— (A)strongly supports and maintains a deep interest in achieving a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the creation of a viable and independent Palestinian state living in peace alongside the State of Israel; (B)strongly encourages the inclusion of Prime Minister Fayyad in any interim and subsequent Palestinian governments; and (C)maintains that a Palestinian government which includes Hamas must be prohibited from receiving United States aid until the government publicly commits to the Quartet principles; and (2)it is the sense of the House of Representatives that United States aid to the Palestinians is intended to prevent acts of terrorism against Israel, to create a cycle of stability and prosperity in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip that promotes peaceful coexistence with Israel, and to meet humanitarian needs in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.