[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 4, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S62]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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   SENATE RESOLUTION 6--OBJECTING TO UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL 
 RESOLUTION 2334 AND TO ALL EFFORTS THAT UNDERMINE DIRECT NEGOTIATIONS 
     BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIANS FOR A SECURE AND PEACEFUL 
                               SETTLEMENT

  Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Schumer, Mr. 
Moran, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Graham, Mrs. 
Gillibrand, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. Ernst, Mr. Coons, Mr. 
Young, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Heller, Mr. Casey, Mr. Portman, Mr. Donnelly, 
Mr. McCain, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Risch, Mr. Peters, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Warner, 
Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. 
Cochran, Mr. Barrasso, Ms. Collins, Mr. Toomey, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Flake, 
Mr. Booker, and Mrs. Capito) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                               S. Res. 6

       Whereas it is long-standing policy of the United States 
     Government that a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-
     Palestinian conflict must come through direct, bilateral 
     negotiations without preconditions for a sustainable two-
     state solution;
       Whereas President Barack Obama expressed before the United 
     Nations General Assembly in 2011 that ``peace will not come 
     through statements and resolutions at the United Nations--if 
     it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now'';
       Whereas Yasser Arafat committed by letter dated September 
     9, 1993, to then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, ``The PLO 
     commits itself to the Middle East peace process and to the 
     peaceful resolution of the conflict between the two sides and 
     declares that all outstanding issues relating to permanent 
     status will be resolved by negotiation.'';
       Whereas the United Nations has taken a long-standing biased 
     approach towards Israel, confirmed in outgoing Secretary-
     General Ban Ki Moon's final address to the United Nations 
     Security Council, when he described the ``disproportionate'' 
     volume of resolutions targeting Israel and stated that 
     ``decades of political maneuvering have created a 
     disproportionate number of resolutions, reports, and 
     committees against Israel'';
       Whereas the United Nations is not the appropriate venue and 
     should not be a forum used for seeking unilateral action, 
     recognition, or dictating parameters for a two-state 
     solution, including the status of Jerusalem;
       Whereas it is long-standing practice of the United States 
     Government to oppose and veto any United Nations Security 
     Council resolution dictating terms, conditions, and timelines 
     on the peace process;
       Whereas it is also the historic position of the United 
     States Government to oppose and veto one-sided or anti-Israel 
     resolutions at the United Nations Security Council;
       Whereas efforts to impose a solution or parameters for a 
     solution will make negotiations more difficult and will set 
     back the cause of peace;
       Whereas the Obama Administration's decision not to veto 
     United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016) is 
     inconsistent with long-standing United States policy and 
     makes direct negotiations more, not less, challenging;
       Whereas several United States administrations have 
     articulated principles as a vision for achieving a two-state 
     solution, including addressing borders, mutual recognition, 
     refugees, Jerusalem, and ending all outstanding claims;
       Whereas Israel is a vibrant democracy whose leaders are 
     elected and accountable to the Israeli people; and
       Whereas the Palestinian Authority must engage in broad, 
     meaningful, and systemic reforms in order to ultimately 
     prepare its institutions and people for statehood and 
     peaceful coexistence with Israel: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) expresses grave objection to United Nations Security 
     Council Resolution 2334 (2016);
       (2) calls for United Nations Security Council Resolution 
     2334 to be repealed or fundamentally altered so that it is no 
     longer one-sided and allows all final status issues toward a 
     two-state solution to be resolved through direct bilateral 
     negotiations between the parties;
       (3) rejects efforts by outside bodies, including the United 
     Nations Security Council, to impose solutions from the 
     outside that set back the cause of peace;
       (4) demands that the United States ensure that no action is 
     taken at the Paris Conference on the Israeli-Palestinian 
     conflict scheduled for January 15, 2017, that imposes an 
     agreement or parameters on the parties;
       (5) notes that granting membership and statehood standing 
     to the Palestinians at the United Nations, its specialized 
     agencies, and other international institutions outside of the 
     context of a bilateral peace agreement with Israel would 
     cause severe harm to the peace process, and would likely 
     trigger the implementation of penalties under sections 7036 
     and 7041(j) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, 
     and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 (division K of 
     Public Law 114-113);
       (6) rejects any efforts by the United Nations, United 
     Nations agencies, United Nations member states, and other 
     international organizations to use United Nations Security 
     Council Resolution 2334 to further isolate Israel through 
     economic or other boycotts or any other measures, and urges 
     the United States Government to take action where needed to 
     counter any attempts to use United Nations Security Council 
     Resolution 2334 to further isolate Israel;
       (7) urges the current presidential administration and all 
     future presidential administrations to uphold the practice of 
     vetoing all United Nations Security Council resolutions that 
     seek to insert the Council into the peace process, recognize 
     unilateral Palestinian actions including declaration of a 
     Palestinian state, or dictate terms and a timeline for a 
     solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict;
       (8) reaffirms that it is the policy of the United States to 
     continue to seek a sustainable, just, and secure two-state 
     solution to resolve the conflict between the Israelis and the 
     Palestinians; and
       (9) urges the incoming Administration to work with Congress 
     to create conditions that facilitate the resumption of 
     direct, bilateral negotiations without preconditions between 
     Israelis and Palestinians with the goal of achieving a 
     sustainable agreement that is acceptable to both sides.

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