[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13166]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCING HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF 
CONGRESS THAT THE UNITED STATES SHOULD CONTINUE TO EXERCISE ITS VETO IN 
     THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL ON ANTI-ISRAEL RESOLUTIONS

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 20, 2016

  Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a House 
Concurrent Resolution 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 and to oppose anti-Israel measures considered by the United 
Nations General Assembly and other United Nations bodies.
  As we all know, Israel is routinely the subject of unfair attacks at 
the United Nations. Israel is one of our nation's great allies--a free 
and open democratic society in a region that is anything but--yet it is 
the only country in the world that has to defend its very right to 
existence on a daily basis. International bodies unfairly target Israel 
regularly, and it's shameful.
  For instance, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has 
voted to condemn Israel 62 times since its creation in 2006. Earlier 
this year, the UNHRC named Israel as the world's top human rights 
violator.
  Here's another example. Resolution 1, adopted during the 29th session 
of the Commission on the Status of Women last year singled out Israel 
as the only nation responsible for women's rights violations. You heard 
that right. Not Syria, where an entire ethnic group, the Yazidis, have 
seen their women and girls sold off as sex slaves; not Saudi Arabia, 
with its strict laws on modesty, where women can neither drive nor own 
property; and not Sudan, where young girls are married off at the age 
of 10 and where many of them are forced to undergo female genital 
mutilation.
  Earlier this year, the government of France convened a conference in 
Paris on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Notably, representatives 
from Israel and the Palestinian Territories were not invited. That is 
no way to negotiate. If the government of France takes the plan to the 
United Nations Security Council, it would effectively force a 
``solution'' upon Israel at an arbitrary deadline, putting the entire 
country at risk. This is unacceptable. We have all seen the wave of 
terrorism that has swept through Israel in recent months. Israel must 
be allowed to maintain its security.
  Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that we, the United States of America, 
continue to stand up for Israel at the United Nations. We all want to 
see a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but we know that 
it can only happen if both sides come together, sit down, and 
negotiate. My friend, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has offered to meet 
anywhere at any time, without any precondition, to continue 
negotiations. The Palestinian leadership, unfortunately, has refused or 
made excuses, and instead turned to international bodies. In doing so, 
they have turned from the peace process and focused instead on 
castigatory measures that will, in the long run, get them nowhere. And 
that is a shame.
  The United Nations can't force peace. A resolution to the conflict 
requires difficult conversations, and even painful concessions through 
mutual bilateral discussion. This is what needs to happen, and the 
United States must send this signal clearly and unequivocally. I urge 
this body to pass the resolution, which will do just that.

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