H.Res.951 - Condemning the ongoing Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli civilians by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations, and for other purposes.110th Congress (2007-2008)
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[actionDate] => 2008-01-29
[displayText] => Introduced in House
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[description] => Introduced
[chamberOfAction] => House
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Agreed to in House
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[actionDate] => 2008-03-05
[displayText] => Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 404 - 1, 4 Present (Roll no. 93).(text: CR H1234)
[externalActionCode] => 8000
[description] => Agreed to in House
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Shown Here: Engrossed in House (03/05/2008)
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 post-traumatic 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.