[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 143 (Friday, September 23, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H6447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD

  (Mr. ELLISON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the Palestinian 
Authority's bid for statehood at the United Nations. Supporting a 
Palestinian state is the right thing to do, and now is the right time 
to do it. It is wholly consistent with American values. We have 
supported people's aspirations for freedom and democracy around the 
world, and we should not treat the Palestinian people differently.
  There is global support for a Palestinian state. More people around 
the world support a Palestinian state than oppose it, including 
Americans. Seventy percent of Israelis would accept a Palestinian state 
if the U.N. approved it. Last year, President Obama said he hoped to 
see a Palestinian state admitted to the United Nations.
  Previously, Palestinians sought statehood through violence and 
terrorism, which the world rightly rejected. Now that they are 
nonviolently following the internationally recognized process to gain 
statehood, why we are discouraging them?
  A Palestinian state is in the national interests of everyone. It 
would help stabilize the Middle East. It would help end Israel's 
diplomatic isolation. It would deal a devastating blow to al Qaeda and 
Hamas, which refuse to recognize Israel. Recognizing Palestine would 
reaffirm Israel's own status.

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