[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 68 (Thursday, May 8, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H3767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       AMERICA STANDS WITH ISRAEL

  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, America stands with Israel. This weekend as 
the Secretary of State begins a key phase of negotiations in the road 
map for peace, I am confident he will remember this core value of the 
American people. America is not a neutral party in the negotiations in 
the Middle East. We are not, nor do we aspire to be, an honest broker. 
America stands with Israel.
  In this vein yesterday in the Committee on International Relations, 
we adopted the Lantos amendment to the State Department authorization 
bill demanding a Palestinian first approach to concessions. The 
Palestinian Authority must first recognize Israel's right to exist, 
hunt down terrorists and dismantle terrorist infrastructure before 
Israel can be expected to make any concessions on the path to peace.
  I pray for the peace of Jerusalem and I pray that Prime Minister 
Abbas and his Cabinet will defeat the terrorists within their midst and 
choose life for their people in that war-torn region.

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