[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14159]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           IT'S NOT TOO LATE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Quigley) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. QUIGLEY. It's not too late. That's my message to Palestinian 
Authority President Abbas, who has announced his intention to seek 
unilateral Palestinian statehood at the United Nations this Friday. 
It's not too late to abandon this reckless route, engage in direct 
negotiations with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, and choose the path 
to peace.
  There is only one road to a peace agreement, and that is through 
direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians. This course forward is 
clearly outlined in the Oslo Peace Agreement, which states that the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be resolved through direct, two-party 
negotiations. Anything outside of these direct talks--particularly this 
Palestinian appeal for U.N. recognition--is a dangerous digression from 
the known way forward.
  In addition to veering from the track toward two states, a status 
upgrade at this time could allow the Palestinians to pursue cases 
against Israel in international institutions such as the International 
Criminal Court. Such institutions could even be used to request 
advisory rulings on final status issues, further circumventing two-
party negotiations.
  The U.S. has also made significant investments in bolstering 
Palestinian security and economic prosperity, all in an effort to 
enable the Palestinians to make the difficult concessions necessary to 
move toward peace. This appeal to the U.N. and rejection of direct two-
party talks directly undermines considerable American efforts and 
investments in a peace deal. Abbas and the Palestinians need to come 
back to the negotiating table, and it is the U.S. that needs to lead 
them back and spearhead negotiations.
  As a true and steadfast friend to Israel, there has never been a more 
vital time for America to stand strong with our ally. With the 
excitement and hope of the Arab Spring has also come a great deal of 
uncertainty--uncertainty about the strength of the relationship between 
Israel and Turkey; uncertainty about the willingness of the Egyptians 
to hold true to their promises under the benchmark 1979 peace treaty; 
uncertainty about the security of the Sinai; uncertainty surrounding 
the speed with which Iran marches toward a nuclear bomb; and 
uncertainty about the number of rockets being stockpiled by Hezbollah 
and Hamas aimed at the homes of Israeli citizens.
  But there is one thing that must never be uncertain: America's 
support for Israel. A threat to Israel's security or legitimacy is a 
threat to America, and we will not stand by and let Israel face these 
challenges alone. Upon her founding over six decades ago, the United 
States was the first Nation to recognize Israel. And since that 
recognition, the special bond between Israel and the U.S. has only 
grown stronger on the bedrock of the mutual principles of freedom, 
justice, and peace. Now is the time to stand with our old friend and 
lead the way to peace.
  It is moments like these that test our mettle. It is moments like 
these that are recorded in our history books. And it is moments like 
these where we must show our leadership.
  America must do everything in its power to end this perilous 
Palestinian bid for unilateral statehood and get direct negotiations 
between the two parties back on track. And President Abbas must know 
there will be consequences for choosing the path of confrontation over 
that of negotiation.
  The course to unilateral recognition is not free. The Israeli-
Palestinian peace process is at a pivotal crossroad. The Palestinians 
can choose to pursue the dead-end track toward U.N. recognition, or 
they can adjust their course in their wrongheaded U.N. bid and sit down 
at the negotiating table with Israel. The choice is theirs. It's not 
too late to choose the path toward peace.

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