[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 110 (Tuesday, July 15, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H6222-H6223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HAMAS AGGRESSION FORCES ISRAEL TO DEFEND ITSELF

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, 400 rocket attacks from Gaza in the past 3 
weeks--Israel has made several attempts to defuse the issue and the 
situation.
  This is how Hamas responded: ``We will not agree to quiet in exchange 
for quiet. If Israel does not agree to our demands, I expect we will 
continue this battle.''
  Can you imagine that? Demands from Hamas that Israel not respond to 
rocket attacks. That is the only way you will get quiet for quiet 
between Israel and Hamas.
  Now, we all know where this recent exchange started. On June 12, the 
abduction and subsequent murder of three Israeli teenagers, suspected 
by Hamas members, inflamed the situation, and then it was pushed over 
the edge by a murder of a Palestinian boy by Jewish extremists, Mr. 
Speaker.
  There is a difference between how both sides act. From the Israeli 
Prime Minister, ``I unequivocally condemn the murder of a Palestinian 
youth in Jerusalem. Murder, riots, incitement, vigilantism--they have 
no place in our democracy.''
  Israel quickly tracked down and arrested the teens' suspected 
murderers--tracked them down and arrested them and is prosecuting them.
  What is the response from Hamas? What is the like response? In 
response, they launched nearly 400 rockets at Israel since June 14. For 
a month, this has been going on--into their population centers, not 
into military targets, Mr. Speaker, but population centers.
  Now, last week, I attended a briefing with Israeli Ambassador Ron 
Dermer to discuss the ongoing operation in Gaza, and one of the things 
I found interesting was all the members that were there from Israel had 
on their phones an application which sounded an air raid siren every 
time one sounded in Israel. We could scarcely get through the briefing 
because they were just continually going off all around the room.
  I imagined myself in my hometown, hunkered down in my basement 
against a rocket attack. No civilization should live this way.
  Interestingly enough, we viewed surveillance video of Hamas members 
using their own people as human shields. The Israelis actually send a 
warning shot--this is the building we are going to hit, this is where 
you are making rockets, and we are going to attack it next.
  You would think that people would run from the building, knowing it 
is going to be blown up, but what does Hamas do? They send people, Mr. 
Speaker, to the building.
  I would remind everybody the responsibility for civilian casualties, 
when those civilians are used as human shields, lies with the party 
that deliberately places them at risk, namely, Hamas.

[[Page H6223]]

  Understand, they are placing their launch sites and their factories 
next to mosques, next to churches, next to hospitals, next to schools. 
The plan is--their intent is to make sure that, when Israel responds, 
responds to an attack, that there are maximum casualties of civilians, 
so that Americans will think that the Israelis are bad, that the 
narrative is that Israelis are using an unmeasured response--response.
  Remember, it is a response, Mr. Speaker. No other country faces daily 
rocket attacks against its civilians, nor would any, nor should any 
other nation tolerate such violence, and we strongly condemn the 
continued rocket fire into Israel and the deliberate targeting, again, 
Mr. Speaker, of citizens.
  Now, this can all end. President Mahmoud Abbas can renounce the 
Hamas-backed unity government. How are we ever going to get to peace 
when their unity government is unified with terrorists, Mr. Speaker?
  Since the beginning of July, the Palestinian terrorists have fired 
hundreds of missiles and projectiles at the population centers in 
Israel and, just recently, rejected the cease-fire negotiated by Egypt.
  What is it that they want? Well, we know what they want. They want 
Israel obliterated from the map, Mr. Speaker.
  For our administration, who has at times been with Israel--but not 
enough times--I would urge them, instead of calling on restraint for 
Israel, asking Israel to restrain--they are responding, Mr. Speaker, to 
attacks on their civilian population.
  Instead of asking them to restrain, demand the PA denounce, renounce 
Hamas and start supporting Israel and give them the necessary resources 
to meet this threat.

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