[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 11289-11290]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             HAMAS IN GAZA

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the current 
situation in the Gaza Strip.
  In 2007, Hamas, a State Department-designated foreign terrorist 
organization, forcibly seized control of Gaza. Hamas continues to 
refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist and, in fact, has 
perpetrated terrorist attacks against Israel, launching countless 
rockets from Gaza into Israel.
  Hamas calls for the elimination of Israel and Jews from Islamic holy 
lands. No Hamas leader has publicly expressed a willingness to disarm 
or to stop attacks on Israel and Israelis.
  Israel, like every other country in the world, has a right to defend 
itself. With a sworn enemy on its border, Israel must protect her 
citizens against potential attacks every single day. Under the 
blockade, Israel directs ships to the port of Ashdod, where they are 
inspected for arms and other dangerous items before Israel allows off-
loading and assists in the delivery of legitimate goods to Gaza.
  We know that Israel's concerns about arms transfers to Gaza are 
legitimate because both weapons and raw materials are smuggled into 
Gaza through tunnels from the Sinai in Egypt. Thousands of rockets and 
mortars have been fired from Gaza into Israel over the last decade.
  Just last week, Israel has shown signs of compromise, announcing its 
intention to ease the blockade and allow more civilian goods and 
humanitarian aid to enter the Palestinian territory by land, including 
construction materials for civilian projects.
  It is important to note that Hamas has made no such compromises and 
continues to maintain its vehement and violent stance against Israel's 
existence. Hamas also continues to endanger Gaza's civilian population 
by using hospitals, schools, mosques, and residential neighborhoods as 
command and operations centers or as weapons storage facilities.
  While Hamas claims to be the popular representatives of the 
Palestinians in Gaza, their actions show that they hardly care for the 
plight of the average Gazan, as their rule deprives their own people of 
a transparent democracy, civil rights and freedom.
  The best way to ameliorate that and to fix the broader current crisis 
and prevent future ones, of course, is Israeli-Palestinian peace and 
the creation of an independent Palestinian state that lives side-by-
side with Israel, providing security and economic stability for the 
Palestinian and the Israeli people.
  Today, it is Israel that continues to acknowledge the necessary 
framework for any peace agreement.
  Israel has shown willingness for direct negotiations, but the 
Palestinians continue to insist on proximity talks. Israel is seeking 
to make peace with a partner whose parliament is controlled by Hamas, 
an organization still sworn to the destruction of Israel.

[[Page 11290]]

  The only way to achieve peace is for Hamas to give up its militancy, 
forego terrorism and violence against innocent civilians, recognize 
Israel's right to exist and become a legitimate partner in Palestinian 
institutions. The more than 1 million Palestinians living in Gaza 
deserve that, the millions of Israelis who are subject to Hamas rockets 
and terror deserve that and frankly, the world deserves a stable, 
secure Middle East.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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