[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 10181]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               PALESTINE

  Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, last night, the Senate unanimously 
approved S. Res. 185, a resolution I introduced with my colleague from 
Maryland, Senator Cardin. Our resolution sends a clear message to the 
Palestinian Authority that any effort to seek unilateral recognition at 
the United Nations will have serious consequences for future American 
aid to the Palestinians.
  The United States provides nearly $550 million each year in bilateral 
assistance to the Palestinians. This aid is not an entitlement, 
particularly at a time when we have an unsustainable debt of some $14 
trillion. Rather, this aid is predicated on a good-faith commitment 
from the Palestinians to the peace process.
  By unanimously passing our resolution last evening, the Senate has 
sent an unmistakable message that efforts by the Palestinians to seek 
independent statehood outside of direct negotiations with Israel do not 
reflect good-faith actions toward peace.
  Negotiations have been a fundamental principle of the peace process. 
It was in September of 1993 when Yasser Arafat committed to Israeli 
Prime Minister Rabin that outstanding issues would be resolved through 
negotiations. This principle has also underpinned the Oslo Accords, the 
Road Map for Peace, and other Middle East peace efforts.
  We want to see a true and lasting peace between two states--a 
democratic Jewish State of Israel and a viable democratic Palestinian 
State. Since 2002, it has been the policy of our country to support a 
two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but the road to 
peace is through negotiations, not by subverting them and making a 
unilateral case before the United Nations.
  Unfortunately, the United Nations has a well-documented record of 
being hijacked to chastise Israel, one of America's closest allies. In 
total, the United States, under Presidents of both political parties, 
has been forced to veto 11 different U.N. Security Council resolutions 
regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
  I am pleased to note that the current U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., 
Susan Rice, has vetoed the latest U.N. resolution regarding 
settlements, which, like Palestinian statehood, is the key issue in the 
peace process. The resolution passed by the Senate urges the President 
to maintain this strong position and to announce his unwavering intent 
to veto any resolution that is not the result of direct negotiations 
between Israel and the Palestinians.
  I wish to thank Senator Cardin for working with me in drafting this 
resolution. When Senator Cardin and I first discussed introducing this 
measure, the Palestinian Authority had not yet agreed to establish a 
unity government with Hamas--a truly disastrous decision. That action 
has made it all that much more critical that the Senate be firmly on 
record that aid to the Palestinians is now in jeopardy. If Hamas 
continues to reject negotiations or peace with Israel, we must suspend 
this assistance.
  During his address before a joint session of Congress in March, 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu succinctly described the 
heart of the matter. He said:

       This conflict has never been about the establishment of a 
     Palestinian state. It has always been about the existence of 
     the Jewish state.

  We must remember those words.
  We must also never forget that Hamas is responsible for the deaths of 
more than 500 innocent civilians, including two dozen American 
citizens. It has been designated by our government as a foreign 
terrorist organization and a specially designated terrorist 
organization.
  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made it clear that the United 
States will not fund a Palestinian Government that includes Hamas 
unless and until Hamas renounces violence, recognizes Israel, and 
agrees to abide by the previous obligation of the Palestinian 
Authority. I urge the administration to suspend aid until such time as 
Hamas demonstrates a clear commitment to following these principles.
  Madam President, let me also thank the chairman and ranking member of 
the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Kerry and Senator Lugar, for 
discharging this resolution so that it could be considered and passed 
by the full Senate before our Fourth of July recess. The passage of 
this resolution could not have been more timely.
  According to press reports, the Palestinian delegation has made the 
rounds with nearly a dozen delegations in New York this week to build 
support for their bid to have a United Nations-recognized state. 
Palestinian Ambassadors from around the world are meeting in July to 
discuss their plans in Madrid. They have been instructed to cancel 
vacations because of the importance of this coming period.
  I submit that if the Palestinians were only willing to invest as much 
energy into the peace process with Israel as they have into this ill-
advised rush to the United Nations, we could see the beginnings of a 
genuine and lasting peace in the region. I do not know if the 
Palestinians will have the support among the 192 members of the U.N. 
General Assembly. However, the Palestinians must understand that the 
cost of seeking such a vote will seriously jeopardize U.S. financial 
assistance and that is evident from the 88 Members of the Senate who 
cosponsored the important resolution that was unanimously passed last 
evening.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.

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