[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 6 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 3
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 6
Objecting to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 and to all
efforts that undermine direct negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinians for a secure and peaceful settlement.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 4, 2017
Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Schumer, Mr.
Moran, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Graham, Mrs.
Gillibrand, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. Ernst, Mr. Coons, Mr.
Young, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Heller, Mr. Casey, Mr. Portman, Mr. Donnelly,
Mr. McCain, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Risch, Mr. Peters, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Warner,
Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Kennedy, Mr.
Cochran, Mr. Barrasso, Ms. Collins, Mr. Toomey, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Flake,
Mr. Booker, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Perdue, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Daines, Mr.
Burr, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Rounds, Mr.
Cassidy, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Lee, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Wicker, Mrs.
McCaskill, Ms. Heitkamp, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Scott, Mr. Gardner, Mr.
Tillis, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Sasse, Mr. Shelby, Mr. Alexander, Ms.
Klobuchar, Ms. Harris, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Thune, Mr. Tester, Mr. Brown, and
Ms. Cortez Masto) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
January 12, 2017
Reported by Mr. Corker, with amendments
[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Objecting to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 and to all
efforts that undermine direct negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinians for a secure and peaceful settlement.
Whereas it is long-standing policy of the United States Government that a
peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must come
through direct, bilateral negotiations without preconditions for a
sustainable two-state solution;
Whereas President Barack Obama expressed before the United Nations General
Assembly in 2011 that ``peace will not come through statements and
resolutions at the United Nations--if it were that easy, it would have
been accomplished by now'';
Whereas Yasser Arafat committed by letter dated September 9, 1993, to then Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin, ``The PLO commits itself to the Middle East
peace process and to the peaceful resolution of the conflict between the
two sides and declares that all outstanding issues relating to permanent
status will be resolved by negotiation.'';
Whereas the United Nations has taken a long-standing biased approach towards
Israel, confirmed in outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon's final
address to the United Nations Security Council, when he described the
``disproportionate'' volume of resolutions targeting Israel and stated
that ``decades of political maneuvering have created a disproportionate
number of resolutions, reports, and committees against Israel'';
Whereas the United Nations is not the appropriate venue and should not be a
forum used for seeking unilateral action, recognition, or dictating
parameters for a two-state solution, including the status of Jerusalem;
Whereas it is long-standing practice of the United States Government to oppose
and veto any United Nations Security Council resolution dictating terms,
conditions, and timelines on the peace process;
Whereas it is also the historic position of the United States Government to
oppose and veto one-sided or anti-Israel resolutions at the United
Nations Security Council;
Whereas efforts to impose a solution or parameters for a solution will make
negotiations more difficult and will set back the cause of peace;
Whereas the Obama Administration's decision not to veto United Nations Security
Council Resolution 2334 (2016) is inconsistent with long-standing United
States policy and makes direct negotiations more, not less, challenging;
Whereas several United States administrations have articulated principles as a
vision for achieving a two-state solution, including addressing borders,
mutual recognition, refugees, Jerusalem, and ending all outstanding
claims;
Whereas Israel is a vibrant democracy whose leaders are elected and accountable
to the Israeli people; and
Whereas the Palestinian Authority must engage in broad, meaningful, and systemic
reforms in order to ultimately prepare its institutions and people for
statehood and peaceful coexistence with Israel: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) expresses grave objection to United Nations Security
Council Resolution 2334 (2016);
(2) calls for United Nations Security Council Resolution
2334 to be repealed or fundamentally altered so that it is no
longer one-sided and allows all final status issues toward a
two-state solution to be resolved through direct bilateral
negotiations between the parties;
(3) rejects efforts by outside bodies, including the United
Nations Security Council, to impose solutions from the outside
that set back the cause of peace;
(4) demands that the United States ensure that no action is
taken at the Paris Conference on the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict scheduled for January 15, 2017, that imposes an
agreement or parameters on the parties;
(5) notes that granting membership and statehood standing
to the Palestinians at the United Nations, its specialized
agencies, and other international institutions outside of the
context of a bilateral peace agreement with Israel would cause
severe harm to the peace process, and would likely trigger the
implementation of penalties under sections 7036 and 7041(j) of
the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 (division K of Public Law
114-113);
(6) rejects any efforts by the United Nations, United
Nations agencies, United Nations member states, and other
international organizations to use United Nations Security
Council Resolution 2334 to further isolate Israel through
economic or other boycotts or any other measures, and urges the
United States Government to take action where needed to counter
any attempts to use United Nations Security Council Resolution
2334 to further isolate Israel;
(7) urges the current Presidential administration and all
future Presidential administrations to uphold the practice of
vetoing all United Nations Security Council resolutions that
seek to insert the Council into the peace process, recognize
unilateral Palestinian actions including declaration of a
Palestinian state, or dictate or dictate terms and a timeline
for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict;
(8) reaffirms that it is the policy of the United States to
continue to seek a sustainable, just, and secure two-state
solution to resolve the conflict between the Israelis and the
Palestinians; and
(9) urges the incoming Administration to work with Congress
to create conditions that facilitate the resumption of direct,
bilateral negotiations without preconditions between Israelis
and Palestinians with the goal of achieving a sustainable
agreement that is acceptable to both sides.
Calendar No. 3
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 6
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Objecting to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 and to all
efforts that undermine direct negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinians for a secure and peaceful settlement.
_______________________________________________________________________
January 12, 2017
Reported with amendments