Whereas Congress previously expressed its concern for
missing Israeli soldiers in Public Law 106–89 (113 Stat. 1305; November 8,
1999), which required the Secretary of State to raise the status of missing
Israeli soldiers with appropriate government officials of Syria, Lebanon, the
Palestinian Authority, and other governments in the region, and to submit to
Congress reports on those efforts and any subsequent discovery of relevant
information;
Whereas the House of Representatives passed H. Res. 107 on
March 13, 2007, and H. Res. 1359 on June 24, 2010, regarding Gilad Shalit and
other Israeli soldiers attacked and captured by terrorists;
Whereas Israel completed its withdrawal from Gaza on
September 12, 2005;
Whereas, on June 25, 2006, contrary to international
humanitarian standards and the most basic standards of humanitarian conduct,
Hamas, a State Department designated foreign terrorist organization, together
with other allied terrorists, crossed into Israel to attack a military post,
killing two soldiers and wounding and kidnapping a third, Gilad Shalit, in a
blatantly extortionate effort to coerce the Government of Israel;
Whereas Hamas, contrary to international humanitarian
standards and the most basic standards of humanitarian conduct, has prevented
access to Gilad Shalit by competent medical personnel and representatives of
the International Committee of the Red Cross;
Whereas Hamas, contrary to international humanitarian
standards and the most basic standards of humanitarian conduct, has failed to
provide Gilad Shalit the humane treatment to which all captives are entitled as
a fundamental human right;
Whereas Hamas, contrary to international humanitarian
standards and the most basic standards of humanitarian conduct, has refused to
provide Gilad Shalit with regular contact with his family or any other party,
or to allow his family to know where he is being held;
Whereas Hamas, contrary to international humanitarian
standards and the most basic standards of humanitarian conduct, has compelled
Gilad Shalit to appear in video and voice recordings intended to extort and
coerce the Government of Israel;
Whereas Hamas, contrary to the most basic standards of
humanitarian conduct, has staged plays and produced cartoons and animated
movies that have mocked Shalit, his captivity, and his family, and have
promised further kidnappings of Israeli soldiers; and
Whereas Gilad Shalit has been held in captivity by Hamas
for almost 5 years: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of
Representatives—
(1)demands
that—
(A)Hamas immediately and unconditionally
release Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit; and
(B)Hamas accede to
international humanitarian standards and the most basic standards of
humanitarian conduct by—
(i)allowing prompt access to Gilad Shalit by
competent medical personnel and representatives of the International Committee
of the Red Cross;
(ii)providing Gilad
Shalit the humane treatment all captives are entitled to as a fundamental human
right;
(iii)facilitating
regular communication by Gilad Shalit with his family and allowing his family
to know where he is being held; and
(iv)ceasing to compel
Gilad Shalit to appear in video and voice recordings intended to extort and
coerce the Government of Israel;
(2)expresses
its—
(A)vigorous support and unwavering commitment
to the welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a Jewish and
democratic state within recognized and secure borders;
(B)strong opposition
to participation by Hamas in the Palestinian Authority prior to explicit
acceptance by that group of Israel’s right to exist, the cessation of all
violence, and the binding commitments made previously by the Palestinian
Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization;
(C)ongoing concern
and sympathy for the family of Gilad Shalit and the families of all other
missing Israeli soldiers; and
(D)full commitment to
continue to seek the immediate and unconditional release of Gilad Shalit and
other missing Israeli soldiers;
(3)recalls—
(A)the barbaric attack on and kidnapping of
the bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev on July 12, 2006, by the
Iran-supported terrorist group Hezbollah; and
(B)the missing
Israeli soldiers Zecharya Baumel, Zvi Feldman, and Yehuda Katz, missing since
June 11, 1982, Ron Arad, who was captured on October 16, 1986, Guy Hever, last
seen on August 17, 1997, and Majdy Halabi, last seen on May 24, 2005;
and
(4)condemns—
(A)Hamas for the grossly immoral cross-border
attack and kidnapping of Gilad Shalit; and
(B)Iran and Syria,
the primary state sponsors and patrons of Hamas, for their ongoing support for
international terrorism.