[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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