[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20341]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PALESTINIAN INTIFADA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSEPH CROWLEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 29, 2004

  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, on the fourth anniversary of the 
Palestinian Intifada, I would like to send my condolences to all the 
families that have lost a loved one or suffered from a terrorist 
attack.
  These have been a long four years of violence since the Palestinian 
Intifada began on September 28, 2000. Today, on the fourth anniversary 
of this terrorist war waged against our ally Israel, I believe it is 
important for us all to reflect on these past 4 years.
  What has this terrorist war achieved--the answer to that question is 
only blood shed.
  Since the start of the Intifada, 940 innocent Israelis have been 
murdered and thousands more injured by terrorist attacks. Even with all 
the blood on the hands of these terrorists, they have been unable to 
come close to achieving their goal of destroying the state of Israel or 
creating a Palestinian state. The only thing these terrorists have 
achieved is the murder of so many and causing pain to their own people.
  A state for the Palestinian people will never be achieved while 
terrorists continue to strike Israel. Whether they come from territory 
controlled by the Palestinian Authority, through Lebanon, Syria, or 
Iran peace can never be achieved while extremists wage this terrorist 
war on Israel.
  It is time for the governments of the Middle East to step up and work 
with the Palestinian leadership to end all support for terrorism and 
assist a Palestinian government that can provide the security that is 
needed to realize their dream of a state. The first step toward 
achieving this goal is for Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie to 
crack down on terrorists who continue to strike Israel. To do this 
Yassir Arafat must be removed from any position of power and control of 
the security forces must be centralized.
  Mr. Speaker, this anniversary is something I hope we do not have to 
recognize at this time next year. I hope that peace can be achieved but 
until then we must continue our support of Israel and her fight against 
these extremist elements.

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