[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 2580-2581]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        IN SUPPORT OF ISRAEL'S CONSTRUCTION OF A SECURITY FENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Garrett) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, since 1948 the State of 
Israel has constantly been under attack from inside and outside her 
borders, from neighbors on all sides. Innocent Israeli citizens, 
including women and children and seniors, have become terrorist 
targets. Israeli shops, streets, and schools have become the 
battleground. There are always threats in the country and always a 
cause for alarm.
  Today, the threat to Israel's security has never been greater. On the 
eve of the U.N.'s hearing this week on the West Bank barrier, a 
Palestinian suicide bomber blew apart a Jerusalem bus, killing himself 
and eight passengers. This strike, which injured 60 others, was in 
protest of the security barrier constructed by Israel to foil terrorist 
attacks such as this.
  This terrible and painful bombing in Jerusalem has brought new 
urgency to the claim of Israeli leaders that a security fence is 
desperately needed in order to prevent terrorists from entering from 
the West Bank and proves that Israel is under a new wave of violence, 
one that the Palestinian leadership is unable and unwilling to stop.
  For this reason, I support Israel's construction of a security fence 
and will support that additional miles be built should Israel so decide 
to continue this self-defense option. The security fence is a proven 
way to impede terror, which in turn will help advance the peace 
process. It is situated to protect the lives of Israelis. The 
separation barrier has proven itself by preventing 50 percent of the 
attempted terrorist attacks against Israel, and the fence around Gaza 
has prevented all Palestinian suicide bombers from entering the 
country.
  There are Palestinians who are working now to disrupt this pursuit 
towards peace. Monday, the Palestinians presented their case to the 
United Nations International Court of Justice, the ICJ, standing 
against the Israeli separation barrier in the West Bank, while Israel 
appealed to world opinion and moral common sense to ignore the 
proceedings that are unfair.
  Israel only began the construction of this fence after 3 years of 
near daily terrorist attacks that killed 919 Israelis and left 
thousands more wounded for life. Now more than 40 nations, including 
the United States, the European Union, and Australia, have joined 
Israel in protesting the court's consideration of this matter because 
it falls outside the court's traditional mandate to serve as a mediator 
between a willing state and, more importantly, because it undermines 
Israel's, and for that matter any nation's, right to self-defense.
  The Palestinians and their supporters have now manipulated the U.N. 
General Assembly to request the ICJ to issue a legal advisory on the 
security of the fence. Though it is not legally binding, this advisory 
opinion could prompt anti-Israel resolutions at the U.N. later this 
year and will reinforce efforts to isolate Israel internationally.
  Manipulation of the ICJ is only the latest attempt in many attempts 
by Israeli detractors to use every arm of the U.N. to delegitimize 
Israel. The U.N. has been a source of anti-Israeli activity, passing 
more resolutions against Israel than any other subject matter, over 400 
since 1964. In contrast, that body has never investigated the 
Palestinian terror campaign against Israel, nor has it investigated the 
abuse, torture, and other human rights violations by nondemocratic 
states in the Arab world. The U.N. is the same body that voted against 
removing Saddam Hussein and ending his evil regime over his own people.
  The international community and Arab states in the region must come 
together now and strongly discourage further Palestinian terrorism. 
Nations around the world must support Israel in their right to defend 
their land and their people. Israel has every right and must have every 
right and ability to

[[Page 2581]]

protect their people and their country. Those who say otherwise, that 
Israel's self-defense is an impediment to progress, they miss the point 
entirely. The destruction of Palestinian terrorism is not an impediment 
to progress; rather, it is the definition of progress.
  Where the violence stops, the peace process can move forward. And 
until it does, Israel's efforts to build a security fence on their own 
borders are a necessary and justified response to the perils that this 
nation faces. As Israel is a free and democratic, peace-loving nation 
and our only real ally in a region filled with unrest and American 
hatred, our Nation must do everything we can to support Israel and not 
stand in the way of the Israeli leaders doing what they feel is 
necessary to protect their citizens and their homeland.

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