[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 164 (Thursday, November 5, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2730-E2731]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  OPPOSING ANY ENDORSEMENT OR FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF THE 
        UNITED NATIONS FACT FINDING MISSION ON THE GAZA CONFLICT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. GWEN MOORE

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 3, 2009

  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, I am disappointed that we have 
gotten to the point that the House even has to consider this resolution 
before us this week. I am inclined to vote for this resolution but not 
without reservations.
  My vote for this resolution should not be read either as an 
endorsement of Operation Lead Cast or as an endorsement of the position 
that investigations of serious allegations of war crimes should not be 
undertaken.
  We cannot act as if the devastating war in Gaza in January did not 
have consequences for Palestinians, Israelis, and the international 
community. We cannot and should not brush aside legitimate allegations 
about abuses committed by both sides during this conflict. Yet, now 
more than ever, we also need to intensify efforts to resolve the very 
serious issues that had unfortunately led to many needless deaths and 
continuing tensions and may continue to do so if we let the status quo 
linger.
  I have reservations that the resolution before the House this week 
would do nothing to defuse the demagoguery that has long plagued the 
Middle East and to help steer us to a future devoid of more rocket 
attacks or violence in the region.
  Ten months after the ``cessation'' of overt fighting in Gaza, 
tensions remain high and both the Palestinian and Israeli people 
continue to live with tremendous insecurity and fear. I am dismayed 
that it appears to be only a matter of time until the endless cycle of 
violence repeats itself again along with the resumption of increased 
misery for innocent Israeli and Palestinian men, women, and children in 
the region. We as a Congress, at this point, would be better served by 
trying to support efforts to reinvigorate the peace process, defuse 
these mounting tensions, and pressing both parties to meet at the 
negotiating table.
  Nonetheless, the Goldstone report includes some very serious charges 
relating to possible war crimes or other crimes against humanity 
committed by Israel, Hamas, and other Palestinian armed groups. To give 
just one example, there are allegations of deliberate and premeditative 
efforts to target a wastewater treatment plant--that did not have any 
link to ``Palestinian armed groups or any other effective contribution 
to military action''--sending over 200,000 cubic meters of raw sewage 
onto farmland. What is lacking in this report is a full and complete 
accounting of the reckless, indiscriminate, and ongoing use of rockets 
by

[[Page E2731]]

Hamas and other groups to target innocent civilians in Israel. Such a 
report cannot shortchange such an effort because doing so allows those 
seeking to score political points--rather than seeking peace, 
stability, and accountability--to hijack this process.
  Again, the breadth and gravity of these charges demand that these 
``facts'' be established in a comprehensive and fair way. Yet, even our 
own State Department--which has been actively engaged in pursuing peace 
in the region and urging both sides to move that process forward--has 
raised concerns about both the mandate for the report as well as the 
report itself, noting ``serious concerns about the report's unbalanced 
focus on Israel, its sweeping factual and legal conclusions, and many 
of its recommendations.'' I am not saying that there should not be a 
serious and comprehensive finding of fact that can serve as a starting 
point on the road to truth and justice about what occurred on both 
sides. But this is not it.
  The lack of a widely credible report on potential human rights abuses 
during the Gaza conflict is a missed opportunity to advance peace or 
stability in the region. It does not advance accountability. In a 
region with plenty of easy opportunity for division and unleashing of 
tensions, I believe that a more widely credible report could have been 
so much more useful in promoting transparency about what occurred, 
justice for those affected, and the prospect of a future peace for all. 
And it would have made this resolution on the floor this week 
unnecessary.

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