[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 28, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4162-S4163]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REAFFIRMING THE COMMITMENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO A NEGOTIATED
SETTLEMENT OF THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign
Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res.
185.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 185) reaffirming the commitment of
the United States to a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict through direct Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations, reaffirming opposition to the inclusion of
Hamas in a unity government
[[Page S4163]]
unless it is willing to accept peace with Israel and renounce
violence, and declaring that Palestinian efforts to gain
recognition of a state outside direct negotiations
demonstrates absence of a good faith commitment to peace
negotiations, and will have implications for continued Unites
States aid.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be
laid on the table, that there be no intervening action or debate, and
any statements relating to this matter be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 185) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 185
Whereas the policy of the United States since 2002 has been
to support a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict;
Whereas a true and lasting peace between the people of
Israel and the Palestinians can only be achieved through
direct negotiations between the parties;
Whereas Palestine Liberation Organization Chair Yassir
Arafat wrote to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on
September 9, 1993, that ``all outstanding issues relating to
permanent status will be resolved through negotiations'';
Whereas the reconciliation agreement signed by Fatah and
Hamas on May 4, 2011, was reached without Hamas being
required to renounce violence, accept Israel's right to
exist, and accept prior agreements made by the Palestinians
(the ``Quartet conditions'');
Whereas Hamas, an organization responsible for the death of
more than 500 innocent civilians, including two dozen United
States citizens, has been designated by the United States
Government as a foreign terrorist organization and a
specially designated terrorist organization;
Whereas Hamas kidnapped and has held captive Israeli
sergeant Gilad Shalit in violation of international norms
since June 25, 2006;
Whereas Hamas continues to forcefully reject the
possibility of negotiations or peace with Israel;
Whereas, by contrast, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin
Netanyahu has accepted a two-state solution to the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict;
Whereas, on April 22, 2009, Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton stated, ``We will not deal with nor in any way fund a
Palestinian government that includes Hamas unless and until
Hamas has renounced violence, recognized Israel and agreed to
follow the previous obligations of the Palestinian
Authority.'';
Whereas the United States, under two different Presidents,
has vetoed 11 United Nations Security Council resolutions in
the last 15 years related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
and its outstanding issues;
Whereas United States Permanent Representative to the
United Nations Susan Rice stated on February 18, 2011, that
it was ``unwise'' for the United Nations to attempt to
resolve key issues between the Israelis and Palestinians;
Whereas Palestinian leaders are pursuing a coordinated
strategy to seek recognition of a Palestinian state within
the United Nations, in other international forums, and from
foreign governments;
Whereas, on March 11, 1999, the Senate adopted Senate
Concurrent Resolution 5 (106th Congress), and on March 16,
1999, the House of Representatives adopted House Concurrent
Resolution 24 (106th Congress), both of which resolved that
``any attempt to establish Palestinian statehood outside the
negotiating process will invoke the strongest congressional
opposition'';
Whereas current United States law precludes assistance to a
Palestinian Authority that shares power with Hamas unless
that Authority publicly accepts the right of Israel to exist
and adheres to all prior agreements and understandings with
the Governments of the United States and Israel;
Whereas the United States Government provides more than
$550,000,000 annually and more than $3,500,000,000
cumulatively in direct bilateral assistance to the
Palestinians, who are among the world's largest recipients of
foreign aid per capita;
Whereas aid to the Palestinians is predicated on a good
faith commitment from the Palestinians to the peace process;
Whereas abandonment by Palestinian leaders of the Quartet
conditions and inclusion of Hamas in a government could
jeopardize the positive steps the Palestinian Authority has
taken in building institutions and improving security in the
West Bank in recent years; and
Whereas efforts to form a unity government without
accepting the Quartet conditions, to bypass negotiations and
unilaterally declare a Palestinian state, or to appeal to the
United Nations or other international forums or to foreign
governments for recognition of a Palestinian state would
violate the underlying principles of the Oslo Accords, the
Road Map, and other relevant Middle East peace process
efforts: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) reaffirms its strong support for a negotiated solution
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in two states,
a democratic, Jewish state of Israel and a viable, democratic
Palestinian state, living side-by-side in peace, security,
and mutual recognition;
(2) states its firm belief that any Palestinian unity
government must publicly and formally forswear terrorism,
accept Israel's right to exist, and reaffirm previous
agreements made with the Government of Israel;
(3) reiterates its strong opposition to any attempt to
establish or seek recognition of a Palestinian state outside
of an agreement negotiated between leaders in Israel and the
Palestinians;
(4) urges Palestinian leaders--
(A) to ensure that any Palestinian government will seek
peace with Israel;
(B) to cease all efforts at circumventing the negotiation
process, including through a unilateral declaration of
statehood or quests for recognition of a Palestinian state
from other nations or the United Nations;
(C) to resume direct negotiations with the Government of
Israel immediately and without preconditions; and
(D) to take appropriate measures to counter incitement to
violence and fulfill all prior Palestinian commitments,
including dismantling the terrorist infrastructure embodied
in Hamas;
(5) supports the opposition of the President to a
unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state and the veto by
the United States on February 18, 2011, of the most recent
United Nations Security Council resolution regarding a key
issue of the Israeli-Palestinian process;
(6) calls upon the President to announce that the United
States will veto any resolution on Palestinian statehood that
comes before the United Nations Security Council which is not
a result of agreements reached between the Government of
Israel and the Palestinians;
(7) calls upon the President to lead a diplomatic effort to
oppose a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state and to
oppose recognition of a Palestinian state by other nations,
within the United Nations, and in other international forums
prior to achievement of a final agreement between the
Government of Israel and the Palestinians;
(8) will consider restrictions on aid to the Palestinian
Authority should it persist in efforts to circumvent direct
negotiations by turning to the United Nations or other
international bodies;
(9) supports the position taken by Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton on April 22, 2009, that the United States
``will not deal with or in any way fund a Palestinian
government that includes Hamas unless and until Hamas has
renounced violence, recognized Israel and agreed to follow
the previous obligations of the Palestinian Authority'';
(10) urges the President to consider suspending assistance
to the Palestinian Authority pending a review of the unity
agreement between Fatah and Hamas; and
(11) reaffirms the requirement under United States law
precluding assistance to a Palestinian Authority that shares
power with Hamas unless that Authority and all its ministers
publicly accept the right of Israel to exist and all prior
agreements and understandings with the Governments of the
United States and Israel.
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