[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3898]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DARRELL E. ISSA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 20, 2002

  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge the Administration to 
continue its diplomatic efforts to end the violence in the Middle East. 
Today I introduced H. Res. 374, which affirms the House's commitment to 
the principles stated in UN Security Council Resolution 1397 and 
expresses support for the diplomatic efforts of the General Anthony 
Zinni, to restart the peace process in the Middle East. This resolution 
is a positive statement of our support for the Israeli and Palestinian 
people who are needlessly suffering. It is also a statement of support 
for President Bush's renewed diplomatic initiative to bring both 
parties back to the peace table.
  Over the past 18 months, the Israeli and Palestinian people have been 
locked in a cycle of violence that has only grown worse with each 
passing day. The violence has become particularly bloody in recent 
weeks, with over 270 Palestinian and Israeli people killed in the month 
of March alone.
  There are two unmistakable conclusions that we must draw from this 
violence. First, it is clear that there is no military solution to the 
conflict. Palestinian terrorists must know that murdering innocent 
civilians and forcing the Israeli people to live in fear will not be 
tolerated and can never lead to a fair, just, or lasting peace. 
Likewise the Israeli government must also know that the indiscriminate 
use of force against Palestinian civilians, the targeting of medical 
personnel and ambulances, and effectively forcing the entire 
Palestinian population to live under house arrest, will only further 
enrage the Palestinian people. It will also do little to provide 
security to the Israeli people.
  Second, it is now painfully obvious that the United States cannot 
afford to remain on the sidelines of this conflict. It is clearly in 
our national interest to see a comprehensive, just, and lasting 
resolution to this issue--to see, as UN Security Council Resolution 
1397 states, ``two sovereign states able to reside in peace with one 
another.'' Over the past 18 months, both sides have demonstrated that, 
left to their own devices, peace will remain an impossible goal. It is 
time for the United States to reinvest its diplomatic resources in this 
conflict, and to push both sides back to the peace table.
  Mr. Speaker, I remain stubbornly optimistic that peace is inevitable. 
As the Israeli statesman Abba Eban once said, ``nations are capable of 
acting rationally--but only after they have exhausted all the other 
alternatives.'' Mr. Speaker, I believe that maybe, just maybe, the 
nations of the Middle East have finally exhausted all the alternatives 
and are ready to make peace.
  I am encouraged by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's proposal to have 
``full normalization'' of relations with Israel as part of the package 
for a negotiated political settlement. This proposal, coming from one 
what has historically been one of Israel's fiercest enemies, should be 
fully embraced and encouraged by our government. My good friend and 
colleague, John Dingell and I have sent a letter to President Bush 
asking him to continue to further develop this idea with the Saudi 
government. I look forward to the upcoming Arab Summit, where this idea 
will be made into a concrete proposal, and I hope and pray that one day 
we will see the men, women, and children of the Holy Lands, live in 
peace together.

                          ____________________