[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 90 (Wednesday, July 12, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1389]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    REGARDING THE RECENT ATTACKS IN LEBANON BY THE TERRORIST GROUP 
                               HEZBOLLAH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 12, 2006

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to condemn 
yesterday's brutal attack by a terrorist group on Israel, which took 
the lives of eight Israeli Defense Forces soldiers and captured two 
others, on the Israel-Lebanon border.
  The actions of the terrorist organization, Hezbollah, against Israel 
are unconscionable. Instead of working towards peace, Hezbollah has 
chosen to perpetuate the violence. Terrorist attacks such as these are 
cowardly actions that resolve nothing. From the South, Israel has been 
attacked by the terrorist organization Hamas with Kassam rockets and 
had one of her soldiers kidnapped. Hezbollah's current terrorist 
assault from the North does not further any legitimate peace process. 
The timing of these aggressions only serves to enhance the existing 
tensions in the region.
  Israel has complied with the U.N. charter and has completely 
withdrawn from Lebanon since May 2000. Now it is time for the Lebanese 
government to abide by the U.N.'s rules. In refusing to disarm 
Hezbollah as required by U.N. Resolution 1559, the Lebanese government 
is choosing to openly ignore the decree of the international body.
  I call upon Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to accept 
responsibility and take immediate action against the terrorist group 
which Lebanon harbors.
  Let us not be misled into believing these attacks arise from a single 
source. The terrorist organizations, Hezbollah and Hamas, are 
unquestionably sponsored and guided by the Iranian and Syrian 
governments. The United States Congress must not allow the Iranian 
government to use bloodshed as a deflecting tactic against U.S. 
attention from their unrestricted nuclear program. The Syrian and 
Iranian governments should be condemned along with the terrorist groups 
they harbor.
  In response to these brutal attacks by terrorists, Israel must have 
the right to defend herself. Like the United States and other sovereign 
nations, Israel is justified in reestablishing its deterrent posture.
  I express my condolences to the families of the attacked soldiers, 
and offer a prayer for the safe return of the two kidnapped soldiers 
from the Lebanon border and the soldier kidnapped in Gaza. I pray for 
the ultimate end of the cycle of violence in the Middle East.

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