[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4641-4642]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 35--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT 
 THE UNITED STATES SHOULD CONTINUE TO EXERCISE ITS VETO IN THE UNITED 
     NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL ON RESOLUTIONS REGARDING THE ISRAELI-
                       PALESTINIAN PEACE PROCESS

  Mr. RUBIO (for himself and Mr. Manchin) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 35

       Whereas it is long-standing practice of the United States 
     Government that a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-
     Palestinian conflict

[[Page 4642]]

     must come through direct, bilateral negotiations between the 
     two parties;
       Whereas President Barack Obama has stated this longstanding 
     practice at the United Nations General Assembly in 2011, 
     expressing ``genuine peace can only be realized between the 
     Israelis and the Palestinians themselves'';
       Whereas it is long-standing practice of the United States 
     Government to veto any United Nations Security Council 
     resolution dictating terms, conditions, and timelines on the 
     peace process;
       Whereas President Barack Obama also expressed before the 
     United Nations General Assembly in 2011, that ``peace will 
     not come through statements and resolutions at the United 
     Nations - if it were that easy, it would have been 
     accomplished by now'';
       Whereas Yasser Arafat committed by letter dated September 
     9, 1993, to then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, ``The PLO 
     commits itself to the Middle East peace process and to the 
     peaceful resolution of the conflict between the two sides and 
     declares that all outstanding issues relating to permanent 
     status will be resolved by negotiation.'';
       Whereas the United States has vetoed 42 unconstructive, 
     anti-Israel resolutions in the United Nations Security 
     Council since 1972;
       Whereas after the United States voted against a resolution 
     on Palestinian statehood, the United States Ambassador to the 
     United Nations, Samantha Power, said the proposal was 
     ``deeply unbalanced'', had ``unconstructive deadlines'', and 
     failed to take ``account of Israel's security concerns'';
       Whereas the United Nations is not the appropriate venue and 
     should not be a forum used for seeking unilateral action, 
     recognition, or dictating guidelines on the Israeli-
     Palestinian peace process;
       Whereas in the two most recently completed United Nations 
     General Assembly sessions, 21 of the 25 (68th Session) and 20 
     of the 23 (69th Session) resolutions attacked Israel;
       Whereas the human rights bodies and agencies of the United 
     Nations, such as the United Nations Human Rights Council, 
     have consistently demonstrated unwarranted bias against 
     Israel; and
       Whereas since 2006, 7 of the 23 Council's sessions have 
     focused on Israel and 61 of their 116 condemnations have 
     unfairly singled out and targeted Israel: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) a durable resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian peace 
     process can only come through direct, bilateral negotiations 
     between Israel and the Palestinians;
       (2) the United Nations cannot be a truly neutral arbiter of 
     the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; and
       (3) the United States Government should continue to uphold 
     its practice of vetoing any United Nations Security Council 
     resolution that inserts the Council into the peace process, 
     unilaterally recognizes a Palestinian state, makes 
     declarations concerning Israeli controlled territories, or 
     dictates terms and a timeline for the Israeli-Palestinian 
     peace process.

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