Whereas more than 4,000 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Israel from
the Gaza Strip by Hamas and other terrorist organizations since Israeli forces
withdrew from there in... (Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by House)
H. RES. 951
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
March 5, 2008.
Whereas more than 4,000 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Israel from the
Gaza Strip by Hamas and other terrorist organizations since Israeli forces withdrew from
there in 2005;
Whereas, since January 1, 2008, terrorists have fired nearly a thousand rockets and
mortar shells into Israel;
Whereas the near-daily rocket fire has been targeted primarily and intentionally at
civilian communities in Israel, such as Sderot and Ashkelon, making life in such areas
agonizing;
Whereas the terrorist rockets have hit homes, schools, buildings, roads, power lines, and
other such infrastructure in Israel;
Whereas these unprovoked rocket and mortar attacks have murdered over a dozen
Israelis, inflicted hundreds of casualties, produced thousands of cases of shock and posttraumatic
stress, especially among children, and caused severe disruption of daily life;
Whereas these deliberate cross-border rocket and mortar attacks on civilian populations
constitute a blatant violation of human rights and international law;
Whereas those responsible for launching rocket attacks against Israel routinely embed
their production facilities and launch sites amongst the Palestinian civilian population,
utilizing them as human shields;
Whereas intentionally targeting civilian populations and the use of human shields violates
international humanitarian and human rights law;
Whereas numerous reports have cited the copious amounts of sophisticated weapons,
small arms, and weapons manufacturing materials that have been smuggled into Gaza
through Egypt;
Whereas public reports have cited the role of Iran and Syria in providing material support
and training to those carrying out rocket and other terrorist attacks from Gaza;
Whereas public reports have referenced the increased flow of ammunition, explosives,
and higher-grade weapons into the Gaza Strip as a result of Hamas' breach of the 12-
kilometer security fence separating Gaza from Egyptian Sinai on January 23, 2008;
Whereas it was reported that after the breach of the Egyptian-Gaza border, many
Palestinian terrorists who had trained in Syria and Iran returned to Gaza;
Whereas the fielding and use of longer-range rockets by Hamas and other terrorist
organizations to reach larger Israeli cities represents a dangerous expansion of the
organizations' offensive capabilities and an escalation of the terrorist attacks on Israel;
Whereas the Government of Israel's military operations in Gaza only target Hamas and
other terrorist organizations;
Whereas the inadvertent inflicting of civilian casualties as a result of defensive military
operations aimed at military targets, while deeply regrettable, is not at all morally
equivalent to the deliberate targeting of civilian populations as practiced by Hamas and
other Gaza-based terrorist groups; and
Whereas the situation in the Gaza Strip remains a threat to international security and
regional stability: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) strongly condemns--(A) Hamas, which controls Gaza, and other Palestinian terrorist
organizations for the ongoing rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and
continued human rights violations;
(B) state sponsors of terror, such as Iran and Syria, for enabling
Palestinian terrorist organizations to carry out attacks against
innocent Israeli civilians; and
(C) the use of innocent Palestinian civilians as human shields by
those who carry out rocket and other attacks;
(2) expresses condolences to the families of the innocent victims on both
sides of the conflict;
(3) supports the sovereign right of the Government of Israel to defend its
territory against attacks;
(4) expresses sympathy and support for innocent Palestinian civilians who
reject all forms of terrorism and desire to live in peace with their Israeli
neighbors but who continue to be utilized as human shields by terrorist
organizations;
(5) considers rocket attacks against Israel and the fostering of terrorism in
the Palestinian territories as direct and serious impediments to the
achievement of Israeli-Palestinian peace;
(6) calls on the President to--(A) direct the United States Permanent Representative to the
United Nations to introduce a resolution within the United Nations
Security Council condemning Palestinian rocket and other attacks
against innocent Israeli civilians; and
(B) direct the Secretary of State to raise this issue in all applicable
bilateral and international fora;
(7) calls on responsible countries and United States allies in the Middle
East to officially and publicly condemn Palestinian rocket attacks and
other terrorist actions against Israel; and
(8) reaffirms the strong and unyielding friendship between the
Governments and the people of Israel and the United States.
Attest:
Clerk.
Just about every, single, senator voted to pass this bill.
The Only Person to vote against this was Representative Ron Paul with this statement:
"Mr. Speaker I rise in opposition to H. Res. 951, a resolution to condemn Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli civilians. As one who is consistently against war and violence, I obviously do not support the firing of rockets indiscriminately into civilian populations. I believe it is appalling that Palestinians are firing rockets that harm innocent Israelis, just as I believe it is appalling that Israel fires missiles into Palestinian areas where children and other non-combatants are killed and injured.
Unfortunately, legislation such as this is more likely to perpetuate violence in the Middle East than contribute to its abatement. It is our continued involvement and intervention – particularly when it appears to be one-sided – that reduces the incentive for opposing sides to reach a lasting peace agreement.
Additionally, this bill will continue the march toward war with Iran and Syria, as it contains provocative language targeting these countries. The legislation oversimplifies the Israel/Palestine conflict and the larger unrest in the Middle East by simply pointing the finger at Iran and Syria. This is another piece in a steady series of legislation passed in the House that intensifies enmity between the United States and Iran and Syria. My colleagues will recall that we saw a similar steady stream of provocative legislation against Iraq in the years before the US attack on that country.
I strongly believe that we must cease making proclamations involving conflicts that have nothing to do with the United States. We incur the wrath of those who feel slighted while doing very little to slow or stop the violence."
HR_951
http://cnifoundation.org/images/stories/HR_951.pdf
OriginalArticle:
Palestine and Israel
Makes you wonder...Will the Palestinian Israeli Conflict be the grounds for WWIII?
Some people say its going to be the Balkans, but with this much scapegoating...who knows...?
House Resolution #951 The Zionist Resolution
