[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 22815]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  EXPRESSING STRONG SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL

  (Ms. BERKLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support 
for Israel, as well as my frustration and anger over the continued 
Palestinian terrorist attacks on innocent men, women and children.
  I am especially angered over the action, or rather inaction, of the 
so- called Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
  The Palestinians were given a unique and exceptional opportunity 3 
years ago at Camp David when Israel offered nearly all the land in the 
West Bank, the Gaza Strip, control of the Muslim holy sites in 
Jerusalem and billions of dollars guaranteed to build an infrastructure 
and a new Palestinian state in exchange for two simple things: peace 
and an end to terrorism.

                              {time}  1015

  Arafat was in a unique historical position to finally bring peace. 
Instead, Arafat chose violence rather than compromises, terrorism 
rather than harmony. He chose to embrace cowardice and fear rather than 
to lead the Palestinians on the path to peace and statehood.
  The United States and Israel stand together in a worldwide struggle 
against terrorism. However, instead of standing decisively with our 
strongest ally, the only democracy in the Middle East, we continue to 
threaten our level of aid, subjecting Israel to a quid pro quo better 
befitting an adolescent child than a sovereign nation. I speak of 
Israel's need for a security fence in order to protect its citizens 
against continued terrorist attacks. Let us not deduct the cost of the 
fence from our loan guarantees.

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