[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 115 (Thursday, September 4, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H6807]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               WHO REALLY WANTS PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I regret to inform my colleagues of yet 
another terrorist bombing in Jerusalem which has left six dead and 
scores wounded. This latest atrocity against unsuspecting and innocent 
civilians is an especially serious challenge to the peace process. The 
militant wing of Hamas took only moments to claim responsibility for 
today's atrocity, the very same Hamas whose leadership Palestinian 
Chairman Arafat publicly and warmly embraced this very week that our 
House delegation was in Israel to assess the status of the peace 
process.
  Clearly there are reactionary forces seeking to destroy the peace 
process. But, Mr. Speaker, the question we must now ask, what kind of 
signal did Arafat send to the so-called extremists with his public 
embrace of Hamas? Was this yet another green light?
  Mr. Speaker, it is time to ask the important question, who really 
wants peace in the Middle East, and who is merely paying lipservice to 
that goal?

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