[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 5 (Monday, January 9, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E37]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      OBJECTING TO UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 2334

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                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 5, 2017

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H. Res. 11, 
Objecting to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 as an 
obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace.
  H. Res. 11 is a gross mischaracterization of the U.S. position on 
U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334 and of President Obama's 
steadfast commitment to Israel.
  The United States has always been, and will remain, a loyal friend of 
Israel. In fact, President Obama recently reinforced the U.S.-Israeli 
bond with the signing of an agreement providing Israel with $38 billion 
in U.S. security assistance over the next decade, the largest agreement 
in the history of our security relationship with Israel.
  While President Obama has been steadfast in preserving our 
relationship with Israel over the course of his presidency, he also 
understands that friends need to tell friends hard truths. Lockstep 
U.S. support for all of Israel's policies is in fact counterproductive 
to maintaining the strong bonds of friendship between our two 
countries.
  This is particularly true when it comes to the issue of illegal 
Israeli settlement expansion. This policy is one of the most serious 
obstacles to achieving a two-state solution, the only viable avenue to 
peace between Israel and the Palestinians. It has long been the 
bipartisan policy of U.S. administrations to oppose settlement 
expansion on land belonging to Palestinians before the 1967 war 
precisely because these settlements diminish the prospects of reaching 
a two-state solution and are not essential to Israel's security. Even 
President Ronald Reagan said of the issue in 1982 that ``further 
settlement activity is in no way necessary for the security of Israel 
and only diminishes the confidence of the Arabs that a final outcome 
can be freely negotiated.'' It was for this reason that President Obama 
chose to abstain on U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, and I 
strongly supported his decision to do so.
  Unfortunately, H. Res. 11 ignores the history of this conflict, 
distorts decades of bipartisan U.S. policy and completely disregards 
the facts on the ground today. The U.S. abstention on U.N. Security 
Council Resolution 2334 was not an aberration in the history of our 
relationship with Israel. Dating back to President Johnson, both 
Republican and Democratic Administrations have repeatedly abstained 
from U.N. Security Council resolutions related to Israel. These 
abstentions have often been at odds with the position of the Israeli 
government.
  Mr. Speaker, achieving a lasting peace between Israelis and 
Palestinians is not an easy task. It requires both sides to make hard 
choices and embrace steps necessary to making the two-state solution a 
reality. Right now, neither side seems willing to make the necessary 
sacrifices needed to resolve this conflict.
  Unfortunately, H. Res. 11 embraces the extreme policies of the 
Netanyahu government that are designed to make the two-state solution 
impossible, and I oppose it precisely because I am committed to 
securing a lasting peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.

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