[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 157 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 157

Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should continue 
    to exercise its veto in the United Nations Security Council on 
resolutions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and oppose 
anti-Israel measures considered by the United Nations General Assembly.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 20, 2016

 Mr. Hastings submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should continue 
    to exercise its veto in the United Nations Security Council on 
resolutions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and oppose 
anti-Israel measures considered by the United Nations General Assembly.

Whereas a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must come 
        through direct negotiations between the Government of Israel and 
        representatives of the Palestinian Authority;
Whereas the United Nations is not the appropriate venue for dictating guidelines 
        on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process;
Whereas the United Nations and its bodies have consistently demonstrated bias 
        against Israel;
Whereas measures illustrating this bias include, but are not limited to--

    (1) Resolution 1, adopted during the 29th session of the Commission on 
the Status of Women on March 20, 2015, which singled out Israel as the 
world's sole nation responsible for women's rights violations;

    (2) Agenda Item 19, adopted during the 69th World Health Assembly on 
May 25, 2016, which singled out Israel as the world's sole violator of 
``mental, physical, and environmental health''; and

    (3) Agenda Item 19, adopted during the 199th meeting of the Executive 
Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural 
Organization (UNESCO) on April 15, 2016, which ignored historic Jewish ties 
to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall area in Jerusalem's Old City, 
condemned Israeli actions taken in response to Palestinian violence, and 
accused Israel of placing ``Jewish fake graves'' in the vicinity of the Al-
Aqsa mosque;

Whereas since its creation in June 2006, the United Nations Human Rights Council 
        has condemned Israel 62 times;
Whereas it is the long-standing practice of the United States Government to veto 
        any United Nations Security Council resolution dictating guidelines on 
        the Israeli-Palestinian peace process;
Whereas the United States has vetoed 42 anti-Israel resolutions in the United 
        Nations Security Council;
Whereas, on April 14, 2016, 388 members of the House of Representatives sent a 
        letter to President Barack Obama urging him to continue the practice of 
        vetoing United Nations Security Council resolutions on Israel, saying 
        that ``such efforts dangerously hinder the prospects for resuming direct 
        negotiations'';
Whereas Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered to continue negotiations 
        seeking a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with 
        Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas without preconditions;
Whereas, on June 3, 2016, the French Republic convened a conference in Paris to 
        address the Israeli-Palestinian peace process without the presence of 
        representatives from Israel and the Palestinian Territories;
Whereas if presented to the United Nations Security Council, a resolution based 
        upon the initiative led by the French Republic would dictate parameters 
        of a future two-state solution and impose a settlement upon the two 
        parties after an arbitrary period of time; and
Whereas the United Nations Security Council has not passed a resolution on the 
        Israeli-Palestinian peace process in over seven years: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That--
            (1) it is the sense of Congress that any resolution to the 
        Israeli-Palestinian peace process can only come through direct, 
        bilateral negotiations between the Government of Israel and the 
        Palestinian Authority;
            (2) it is the sense of Congress that the United States 
        Government, through its Permanent Representative to the United 
        Nations, should continue its practice of vetoing any United 
        Nations Security Council resolution that unilaterally 
        recognizes a Palestinian state, makes declarations concerning 
        Israeli controlled territories, or dictates terms for the 
        Israeli-Palestinian peace process; and
            (3) Congress expresses support for individuals and 
        organizations working to encourage cooperation between Israelis 
        and Palestinians dedicated to achieving a peaceful resolution 
        to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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