[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4136]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   WE MUST CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ISRAEL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOE KNOLLENBERG

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 9, 2002

  Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Speaker, the situation in the Middle East has 
deteriorated dramatically in recent weeks. Secretary of State Colin 
Powell is now on a mission to the region. President Bush made the right 
decision to send him there, and now we must be very clear about the 
cause of the current conflict, now it its nineteenth month. As 
difficult and complex as the Middle East is, what's needed most is very 
simple: an end to Palestinian terrorism.
  Despite the commitments Yasir Arafat has made to fight against 
terror, his actions have not met his words. Time and time again he's 
passed up opportunities, betraying the people he's supposed to lead. 
Because he has failed to join the fight against terror, Israel has been 
forced to fight it for him. As Secretary Powell heads to the region, he 
has another chance. I, along with my colleagues in Congress, will be 
watching closely to see if Arafat has changed his ways.
  We must also remember, not all Palestinians support terrorism. The 
problem is with the Palestinian leadership. There are plenty of 
Palestinians that, like Americans and Israelis, want to go to work, 
earn a living and build a family. We need to work with these people and 
find ways to support them, so we can hope for a new generation of 
Palestinian leadership that realizes the only way to achieve a 
Palestinian state is to fight terrorism and embrace peace with Israel.
  Every Arab government must step forward and do everything in their 
power to stop the Palestinian terrorism, and terrorism around the 
world. Stop encouraging, stop inciting, stop financing. Governments 
such as Iraq that reward parents for convincing their children to kill 
innocent people is one of the most horrible things imaginable. Suicide 
bombers are not martyrs, they're murderers. When Iran uses Hezbollah to 
ship 50 tons of weapons to Palestinian terrorists, it's obvious they're 
only paying lip service to the idea of stopping terrorism. Iraq, Iran, 
Syria, and all the countries in the region must choose and act 
decisively in word and deed against terrorist networks and terrorist 
acts.
  As President Bush has said, time and again, the nations of the world 
must decide: they're either with us or they're with the terrorists. But 
every day we see suicide bombers killing innocent Israelis. Israel has 
rightfully taken action to stop the bombing of innocent Israeli 
citizens. America has asked the world to join us in the fight against 
terrorism. Israel is on the front lines. We must continue to support 
Israel, financially, diplomatically, and by whatever means are 
necessary.