[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 417 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 417
Standing with Israel against terrorism.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 19, 2023
Mr. Schumer (for himself, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Risch, Ms.
Baldwin, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr.
Booker, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Braun, Mrs. Britt, Mr. Brown, Mr. Budd, Ms.
Butler, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey, Mr. Cassidy,
Ms. Collins, Mr. Coons, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Cotton, Mr.
Cramer, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Daines, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Ms.
Ernst, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Fischer, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Graham, Mr.
Grassley, Mr. Hagerty, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Hawley, Mr. Heinrich, Mr.
Hickenlooper, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Hoeven, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Johnson, Mr.
Kaine, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Lankford,
Mr. Lee, Mr. Lujan, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Markey, Mr. Marshall,
Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Moran, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Murkowski, Mr.
Murphy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Ossoff, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Paul, Mr. Peters, Mr.
Reed, Mr. Ricketts, Mr. Romney, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Rubio, Mr.
Sanders, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schmitt, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Scott of
South Carolina, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Sinema, Ms. Smith, Ms. Stabenow, Mr.
Sullivan, Mr. Tester, Mr. Thune, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Tuberville, Mr. Van
Hollen, Mr. Vance, Mr. Warner, Mr. Warnock, Ms. Warren, Mr. Welch, Mr.
Whitehouse, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. Young) submitted the
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Standing with Israel against terrorism.
Whereas on October 7, 2023, Hamas, an organization designated by the United
States as a foreign terrorist organization, launched an unprecedented
attack on Israel by air, land, and sea;
Whereas this heinous assault took place just after the 50th anniversary of the
multi-front 1973 Yom Kippur War against Israel and while Israeli Jews
were preparing to celebrate Simchat Torah;
Whereas Hamas, which has long been supported by Iran, launched thousands of
rockets into southern and central Israel;
Whereas Hamas terrorists crossed the Israeli land border, killing civilians and
abducting hostages in more than 20 towns in southern Israel, including
children and the elderly;
Whereas the initial attack killed more than 1,300 Israelis and injured thousands
more;
Whereas American citizens in Israel are among those killed and abducted by Hamas
since October 7, 2023;
Whereas since October 7, 2023, Hamas is directly responsible for the deaths of
hundreds of Palestinians;
Whereas expansion of this war to other fronts by Hezbollah, Iran, or others
would create an even more devastating regional catastrophe;
Whereas Iran has long provided hundreds of millions of dollars in material
support to Hamas and other terrorist groups, such as Palestinian Islamic
Jihad;
Whereas since 1998, the United States Government has supported successive
Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) between the United States and Israel,
and in the MOU negotiated in 2016, the United States pledged to provide
Israel with $3,300,000,000 per year in foreign military financing and
$500,000,000 per year in missile defense funding for 10 years, which
Congress has appropriated annually since 2018;
Whereas section 513(c) of the Security Assistance Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-
280), as amended by section 1273 of the United States-Israel Security
Assistance Authorization Act of 2020 (subtitle H of title XII of Public
Law 116-283), authorized not less than $3,300,000,000 in foreign
military financing for Israel for fiscal years 2021 through 2028, in
accordance with such MOU;
Whereas Congress has responded with emergency supplemental appropriations beyond
the terms of such MOU, when needed, such as a $225,000,000 appropriation
in 2014 to replenish immediate Iron Dome interceptors after Hamas fired
thousands of rockets into Israel, and appropriations of an additional
$1,000,000,000 for the Iron Dome after the May 2021 conflict during
which Hamas launched more than 4,400 rockets into Israel; and
Whereas the United States will make every effort to prevent Iran, Hezbollah, and
others from entering the conflict against Israel, including increasing
credible regional deterrence through the deployment of naval and air
assets to the Middle East:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved,
SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE SENATE.
The Senate--
(1) stands with Israel as it defends itself, including
Israeli efforts to diminish the threat posed by Hamas;
(2) reaffirms Israel's right to self-defense, and is
committed to helping Israel safeguard its people from future
aggression;
(3) calls on all countries to unequivocally condemn Hamas'
war on Israel, including Hamas' intentional targeting of, and
attacks against, civilians;
(4) demands that Hamas immediately cease its attacks
against Israel and safely release all living hostages and
return the bodies of deceased hostages;
(5) condemns Iran's support for global terrorism, including
its support for terrorist groups such as Hamas and Palestinian
Islamic Jihad;
(6) calls on the United States to lead an international
effort to deprive Hamas of Iranian and other sources of funding
and lethal assistance that the terror group relies on to
threaten Israel;
(7) warns against any other party hostile to Israel taking
advantage of the current situation;
(8) reaffirms the United States' commitment to Israel's
security; and
(9) stands ready to assist Israel with emergency resupply
or other security, diplomatic, and intelligence support needs,
both during the immediate crisis and in the near future,
including by accelerating delivery of defense articles and
systems.
SEC. 2. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this resolution may be construed as a declaration of war
or an authorization for the use of military force.
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