[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 123 (Friday, August 1, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1319]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    DENOUNCING USE OF CIVILIANS AS HUMAN SHIELDS BY HAMAS AND OTHER 
                        TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 30, 2014

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 107, 
a resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in 
support of the State of Israel as it defends itself against rocket 
attacks launched by Hamas.
  These deadly rocket attacks launched from Gaza into Israel by Hamas 
against unarmed civilian populations are deserving of the condemnation 
of this House and the international community.
  Mr. Speaker, since the most recent airstrikes began, hundreds of 
persons--Israelis and Palestinians--have been killed and many hundreds 
more injured.
  No sovereign nation can be expected to stand idly by while unprovoked 
acts of violence are perpetrated against its citizens by terrorists or 
foreign entities.
  Israel has, as do all countries under the law of nations, the right 
to exist and the right to self-defense. This means Israel is allowed to 
take all necessary, appropriate, and measured actions required to keep 
its people safe. Hamas should cease using their fellow citizens as 
human shields.
  But at the end of the day, the peace and justice we all seek will 
come from the parties acting in good faith to find a just and lasting 
peace that recognizes Israel's right to exist, renounces violence and 
terrorism, and achieves the two-state solution.
  Among the most important things that can be done to bring peace and 
the two-state solution into being and to halt the suffering is for the 
Administration to redouble its efforts to mediate a peaceful resolution 
of the conflict and for the President Mahmoud Abbas to exercise 
stronger leadership in rallying and uniting the Palestinian people 
under the banner of peace with justice.
  Mr. Speaker, I condemn launching rockets into civilian populations. 
In addition to death and destruction, such attacks instill fear and 
cause suffering to innocent men, women, and children.
  Finally, I offer sympathies for the loss of life among the Israelis 
and the Palestinians.
  As the great theologian St. Augustine reminds us, ``peace is the 
necessary condition in which people can be free to work out their 
eternal destiny.''

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