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88–835PDF 2014

DENOUNCING THE USE OF CIVILIANS AS HUMAN SHIELDS BY

HAMAS AND OTHER TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS IN VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW; AND CONDEMNING THE MURDER OF ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN CHILDREN IN ISRAEL AND THE ONGOING AND ESCALATING VIOLENCE IN THAT COUNTRY

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

H. Con. Res. 107 and H. Res. 665

JULY 25, 2014

Serial No. 113–208

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

MATT SALMON, Arizona 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois 

MO BROOKS, Alabama 

TOM COTTON, Arkansas 

PAUL COOK, California 

GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina 

RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

STEVE STOCKMAN, Texas 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

DOUG COLLINS, Georgia 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

SEAN DUFFY, Wisconsin 

CURT CLAWSON, Florida 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

JUAN VARGAS, California 

BRADLEY S. SCHNEIDER, Illinois 

JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III, Massachusetts 

AMI BERA, California 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California 

GRACE MENG, New York 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas

AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director

JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida, Chairman 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois 

TOM COTTON, Arkansas 

RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

DOUG COLLINS, Georgia 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

SEAN DUFFY, Wisconsin 

CURT CLAWSON, Florida 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

JUAN VARGAS, California 

BRADLEY S. SCHNEIDER, Illinois 

JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III, Massachusetts 

GRACE MENG, New York 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

MARKUP OF 

H. Con. Res. 107, Denouncing the use of civilians as human shields by 

Hamas and other terrorist organizations in violation of international humanitarian law ..................................................................................................... 2

Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H. Con. Res. 107 offered 

by the Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Representative in Congress 

from the State of Florida, and chairman, Subcommittee on the Middle 

East and North Africa ...................................................................................... 8

H. Res. 665, Condemning the murder of Israeli and Palestinian children 

in Israel and the ongoing and escalating violence in that country .................. 5

APPENDIX 

Markup notice .......................................................................................................... 22

Markup minutes ...................................................................................................... 23

Markup summary .................................................................................................... 24

(1)

DENOUNCING THE USE OF CIVILIANS AS HUMAN SHIELDS 

BY HAMAS AND OTHER TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS IN 

VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW; AND 

CONDEMNING THE MURDER OF ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN CHILDREN IN ISRAEL AND THE ONGOING AND ESCALATING VIOLENCE IN THAT COUNTRY 

FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2014

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:48 a.m., in room 

2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen 

(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. The subcommittee will come to order. 

We meet today pursuant to notice to mark up two bipartisan 

measures. As your offices were previously notified, it is the intent 

of the Chair to consider the following items en bloc. And members 

will have before them, you have in your packet, House Concurrent 

Resolution 107, Denouncing the use of civilians as human shields 

by Hamas and other terrorist organizations in violation of international humanitarian law; number two, House Resolution 665, 

Condemning the murder of Israeli and Palestinian children in 

Israel and the ongoing and escalating violence in that country; and 

thirdly, Ros-Lehtinen amendment in nature of a substitute to 

House Con. Resolution 107, which was provided to your offices yesterday. 

Without objection, these items are considered as read. And will 

be considered en bloc. 

[The information referred to follows:]

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Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. After I recognize myself and the ranking 

member to speak on these measures, I will be glad to recognize 

other members who also seek recognition. 

Without objection, all members may have 5 days to submit statements for the record on today’s business. 

The Chair now recognizes herself for her opening statement. 

Today we have before us two timely and important resolutions. 

The first is House Concurrent Resolution 107, which I introduced 

alongside with our ranking member, Congressman Ted Deutch of 

Florida, that denounces the use of human shields by Hamas and 

other terrorist organizations. The second is the House Resolution 

665, authored by David McKinley of West Virginia and our Middle 

East and North Africa Subcommittee colleague from California, Mr. 

Juan Vargas. Their resolutions condemn last month’s murder of 

the three Israeli teens, and Eyal, Gilad, and Naftali by members 

of Hamas, and the murder of Palestinian teen Mohammed Abu 

Khedair by Israeli extremists and the escalation of violence. 

It should be noted that while Israeli authorities move swiftly to 

arrest three suspects in Mohammed’s murder, Eyal, Gilad, and 

Naftali’s murderers are still roaming free, yet to be brought to justice. 

But these measures are significant and their timing is not an accident. In light of the recent events that have transpired in Israel 

and Gaza over the past month and a half, it is extremely vital that 

the United States Congress serves as a counterweight to those who 

seek to delegitimize Israel by pushing a false moral equivalency 

measure. Make no mistake, there is no equivalency whatsoever between Israel and Hamas, a United States designated terrorist organization. 

We need look no further than the mockery that is the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) to see the dangers of these 

efforts to delegitimize Israel. Just 2 days ago, that council passed 

a resolution to form a commission of inquiry into what it called war 


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crimes and human rights violations by Israel in Gaza. It should 

come as no surprise to any of us of the one-sidedness of the 

UNHCR—and this is the same body that gave us the deeply flawed 

and unabashedly biased anti-Israel Goldstone Report in 2009. 

Yet remarkably, there was no mention of Hamas’ indiscriminate 

rocket attacks on innocent Israeli civilian populations. But surely 

firing rockets into Israel and placing missile batteries in denselypopulated areas and near schools, near hospitals, near mosques 

would merit a mention? Or perhaps using men, women, and children as human shields to protect militants and their rockets would 

draw the proper amount of outrage? No. Not a word. 

But this has been the standard operating procedure of the 

UNHCR. It has been an anti-Semitic, anti-Israel pro-terror group 

for far too long. There must be some member nations on that body 

that would have had the moral outrage that we in Congress feel 

and that they would have voted against such a resolution. Alas, the 

United States was the lone voice of reason. The only Nation willing 

to say that we do not support this, that this is completely insane. 

Where were our European allies? Those European countries that 

always tell us how much more enlightened they are than us. Deafeningly silent. They couldn’t even stand by the courage of their convictions and vote either for or against the measure. No. They all 

abstained from voting. Perhaps thinking they took the moral high 

ground. But theirs is the worst crime of all, their refusal to stand 

up for what is right. 

So here we are again, another UNHCR one-sided inquiry that 

will do nothing but embolden Hamas because Hamas sees this and 

it thinks that the world supports what it is doing. 

I commend the U.S. Representative to the UNHCR for standing 

up against the resolution this week. Ambassador Harper rightly 

said that this vote will undermine achieving all of our objectives to 

end the hostilities and bring peace to the troubled region and acknowledge that once again, the council fails to exhibit any semblance of balance. 

If the council truly cared about human rights, it would condemn 

Hamas’ use of human shields and its indiscriminate rocket attacks 

against Israel. It would take a look at Hamas’ call for citizens to 

ignore Israeli warnings to evacuate, or Hamas’ insistence that Palestinians stand on their roofs to prevent an attack, putting the citizens directly in harm’s way. And the council would call upon 

Hamas to accept a ceasefire, which I believe it has now refused to 

accept, at least three of the four of those attempts at a ceasefire, 

while Israel has accepted each one of them. 

It would launch an inquiry into Hamas and its supporters, like 

supposedly our U.S. ally, Qatar. Not only is Qatar a major benefactor of Hamas, but it has also been working actively to undermine Egyptian and other Nations’ ceasefire efforts, further 

embolding Hamas. 

Qatar, the same question that we entrusted to watch over to the 

Taliban 5 that has been supporting terrorists and radicals all 

across the globe and offers them sanctuary. Qatar, the same country that we just signed an $11 billion arms deal with, $11 billion, 

is the very same country that serves as Hamas’ mouthpiece 

13

through Al Jazeera, airing Hamas propaganda that then gets 

broadcast to the world. 

Perhaps that is something the UNHCR could look into. But it 

won’t, because it doesn’t fit nicely into its agenda. And that is why 

passing these two measures will send a strong message that we 

will not allow Israel’s enemies to undermine the security of our 

democratic ally or its legitimacy, but that we will continue to support Israel and do whatever is necessary to help it eliminate the 

terrorist threat, be it Hamas or Hezbollah or any other group. 

I urge my colleagues to support these measures before us today. 

And now I will turn to our ranking member, Congressman 

Deutch, for his remarks. 

Mr. DEUTCH. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I want to thank you 

for moving forward on these timely and important resolutions 

today. And I extend my sincere gratitude to you for being a tremendous partner in our joint effort, House Concurrent Resolution 107, 

denouncing Hamas’ use of civilians as human shields. 

I want to recognize Mr. Vargas for his work on House Resolution 

665, condemning the murder of Israeli and Palestinian children in 

Israel and the ongoing escalation of violence. 

Chairman Ros-Lehtinen and I were in Israel the night the world 

learned the tragic fate of the three Israeli teens, Eyal, Gilad, and 

Naftali. We mourned with the families and the tens of thousands 

of others at their joint funeral. And we were there just days later 

when 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khedair was brutally and tragically murdered. 

In the wake of these heartbreaking deaths, violence escalated as 

Hamas began indiscriminately launching rockets to southern Israel 

and then central Israel, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem. Thanks to the 

Iron Dome missile defense system, hundreds of thousands of Israeli 

lives have been saved. Israel has the right to defend her people 

against these attacks. And she can’t be criticized for making the investments in Iron Dome to save her citizens while Hamas continues to invest in rockets aimed at killing Israeli citizens. 

In the week since the start of Operation Protective Edge, Israel 

has uncovered numerous plots by Hamas to infiltrate Israel via terror tunnels and to launch attacks on Israeli civilians. I ask you to 

imagine what you would want your country to do if rockets were 

raining down on your hometown. If tunnels were built under your 

house, your children’s nursery, your grandfather’s senior center for 

the sole purpose of making it possible to pop up in those places and 

slaughter the people who live there. 

As President Obama said, no Nation should accept rockets being 

fired into its border or terrorists tunneling into its territory. 

Look, we all mourn the loss of innocent life to both sides of this 

conflict. It is tragic. But it is Hamas, a U.S. and European Union 

designated terrorist organization, terrorist army, that is embedding 

its terrorist infrastructure in densely populated civilian areas. 

As Israel makes every attempt to warn of incoming strikes via 

phone calls, text messages, and leaflet drops, Hamas spokesmen go 

on TV and encourage civilians to stay in their homes to act as 

human shields. Hamas hides rockets in schools. In the past week, 

rockets were found in two U.N. schools. It hides them in mosques. 

There was a Washington Post report on July 17, when it witnessed 

14

a group of men in a mosque in northern Gaza seen moving small 

rockets into the mosque. 

Madam Chairman, I know that emotions run high on both sides 

of this conflict. But there is no path that leads to peace and a Palestinian state living side by side with the Jewish State of Israel 

that includes Hamas. The greatest impediment to peace for everyone who wants peace in the region, the greatest impediment to 

peace between Israel and the Palestinians is Hamas, whose charter 

is founded on the destruction of the State of Israel. 

President Bill Clinton said in an interview this week, Hamas was 

perfectly well aware of what would happen if they started raining 

rockets in Israel. They fired 1,000 of them. And they have a strategy designed to force Israel to kill their own civilians so that the 

rest of the world will condemn them. 

It is Hamas that chose to invest money in underground bunkers 

for its leaders and terror tunnels and rocket launchers instead of 

investing in jobs and schools and healthcare for the people of Gaza. 

The siege that people like to talk about in Gaza has been brought 

about on the people of Gaza by Hamas. And it is Hamas that uses 

its own people as human shields to protect these rocket launchers. 

The use of civilians to protect military objectives is a direct violation of the Geneva Conventions. Look, this week, just this week, we 

heard from a Hamas spokesman. If there is any question about 

what is really happening here, we heard this statement. He said, 

we will keep tormenting Zionists until the last Zionist leaves the 

soil of Palestine, all of Palestine. Any calm is temporary, periodic 

calm. We don’t talk about a long-term peace agreement. Calm in 

a resistance dictionary means preparation for the next war. The resistance will keep developing, manufacturing, and stocking its arsenals with new, surprising components for the next wars until the 

Zionist enemy leaves our country and all our land. 

That is the Hamas spokesman. 

It is really simple, Madam Chairman. Any responsible Nation 

that values human rights must condemn deplorable actions of 

Hamas and other terrorist groups. And the U.N. vote this week? 

Take a look at the 29 countries who voted to focus on Israel instead 

of the country that is launching rockets and launching terror attacks. Tell me about the great concern that human rights that 

Cuba and Venezuela have as they voted for that resolution. 

Madam Chairman, I want to thank you for your commitment to 

bringing these bills forward in a bipartisan manner. And I hope 

that we have the opportunity as this—as this bill goes further to 

further delve into what is a very simple and straightforward proposition. That if you believe in human rights, if you believe in democracy, then you must support Israel’s right to defend itself and you 

must condemn Hamas. 

And I yield back. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you very much, Mr. Deutch. 

Now I am pleased to recognize in the order you came in, Mr. 

Schneider of Illinois is recognized. 

Mr. SCHNEIDER. Thank you, Madam Chairman. And I am very 

proud to join today and strongly rise to speak in support of both 

House Concurrent Resolution 107, condemning Hamas’ use of 

15

human shields, and House Resolution 665, condemning the measured of the four young people last month. 

Speaking first to the human shields. In the 90 years since Israel 

withdrew completely from Gaza, evacuating 9,000 Israelis, Hamas 

and other groups in Gaza have launched over 9,000 rockets. This 

month alone, over 2,000 rockets intended to kill civilians and terrorize virtually every Israeli city, town, and village, have been 

launched from Gaza. 

Thankfully, Israel has developed, with the support of this U.S. 

Congress and the American people, the Iron Dome defense system, 

changing the calculus on the ground. Israel is doing all it can to 

protect her citizens from Hamas rockets. 

Conversely, Hamas is using the people of Gaza to protect the 

rockets and rocket launchers. 

I fully support Israel’s right to defend her citizens, to do what is 

necessary to eliminate the threat of rockets and the threat of terror 

tunnels dug under the ground into Israeli territory. 

This resolution condemning the use of human shields, clearly a 

violation of international humanitarian law, is a strong statement 

that human shields cannot be used and Israel must be allowed to 

defend herself. Hamas is a terrorist organization. Hamas must be 

prohibited from using rockets to terrorize Israel and human shields 

to defend those rockets. 

Let me also speak to the resolution condemning the callous murder of youths, whether it is boys Naftali, Gilad, or Eyal, or boys 

named Mohammed. 

The clear distinction is that after the murder of Mohammed, 

Israel authorities quickly condemned the murder of the young man, 

arrested, and are prosecuting the perpetrators. As I stated before, 

the two murderers believed to have killed the three young Israelis 

remain at large, and too many people are unwilling to condemn the 

murder of Naftali, Gilad, and Eyal. We stand together in support 

of the families. We stand—I stand in support of Israel’s right to defend herself, and I am proud to stand and support both of these 

resolutions. 

I yield back. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you very much, Mr. Schneider. 

Mr. Chabot of Ohio is recognized. 

Mr. CHABOT. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I want to express 

to my support for both resolutions being considered this morning, 

H. Res. 665, Condemning the murder Israeli and Palestinian children and the ongoing and escalating violence in that country, and 

H. Con. Res. 107, Denouncing the use of civilians at human shields 

by Hamas and other terrorist organizations in violation of international humanitarian law. 

I especially want to express my strong support for Israel’s right 

to defend its territory from attacks by Hamas terrorists. 

Since the start of Operation Protective Edge a little more than 

2 weeks ago, more than 2,000 rockets have been launched against 

Israel from Gaza, from Syria, from Lebanon, and from Sinai, endangering of the lives of some 6 million Israelis. Yet if we listened 

to Hamas spokesmen, Hamas apologists in the news media, and in 

the anti-Israeli cabal in the U.N., we would be led to believe that 

Israel has been the aggressor. Meanwhile, Hamas exposes its own 

16

people to danger by launching strikes from civilian neighborhoods 

near hospitals, near mosques, near schools. There were even published reports earlier this week of Hamas terrorists using ambulances as getaway cars. 

This is a critical time in Israel’s history. And it is imperative 

that we continue to stand beside our friend and ally. This subcommittee, by acting on these resolutions today, is sending a strong 

message, I believe, both to Hamas and to Israel. And I urge support of this resolution. 

And I want to thank you, Madam Chair, for ensuring that our 

message will be heard. 

I yield back. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you, Mr. Chabot. 

Ms. Frankel of Florida is recognized. 

Ms. FRANKEL. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I want to thank 

my colleagues for bringing these resolutions and for their very eloquent remarks this morning. I support both resolutions. 

Madam Chair, this week the United Nations found dozens of 

Hamas rockets stored in two separate children’s schools in Gaza. 

These rockets are identical to the rockets that Hamas uses to terrorize millions of Israelis. And this serves as a reminder of what 

we already know. It is Hamas that is responsible for the terrible 

loss of life both in Israel and Gaza. Hamas embeds its weapons and 

launchers in schools in houses and mosques and hospitals. While 

Israel uses Iron Dome rockets to protect its citizens, Hamas uses 

citizens to protect its rockets. So we watch the news and we see 

the heart-wrenching images from Gaza and Israel. Remember, it is 

Hamas who is to bear the blame. 

And I thank you, Madam Chair. 

And I yield back. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you, ma’am. 

Mr. Cotton not of Arkansas is recognized. 

Mr. COTTON. Hamas must be destroyed. The Gaza Strip is run 

by a rat’s nest terrorist organization and has been for years. These 

terrorists have no regard for human life. They commit double war 

crimes every day by firing rockets and missiles and mortars at 

Israeli citizens, which they cite at the homes and the mosques and 

the hospitals and the churches of their civilians. They invade Israel 

through tunnels, which must also be destroyed because they are 

committing war crimes by wearing Israeli uniforms to kill Israeli 

soldiers and Israeli citizens. 

The Israeli defense force is the most moral humanitarian fighting 

force in the world alongside with the Armed Forces of the United 

States. And rather than try to pressure Israel in any way, the 

United States should be standing by Israel along with so many 

other Middle Eastern governments in their efforts to destroy 

Hamas. 

I am proud to support these resolutions, and I will reiterate that 

Hamas must be destroyed. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you, sir. 

Mr. Vargas of California is recognized. 

Mr. VARGAS. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And I want 

to thank you for bringing these resolutions forward, and especially 

for the bipartisan nature. You can see we all agree on these issues. 

17

Israel has the right and really the moral obligation to defend 

itself. It can’t sit idle as missiles rain down on their citizens. And 

so it has acted. And it has acted in a way not only to defend itself, 

but attempt to protect innocent life on both sides. Israeli soldiers 

have died in this process protecting civilians in of the Gaza Strip. 

And people should talk about that. I mean, this a very moral force 

that is in Gaza. The Israelis have gone out of their way, not only 

leafleting, but calling, letting people know, get out of the house. 

Hamas has said, no. Bare your chest. Take those missiles on. 

Hamas has purposely put in these human shields to try to up the 

count of civilians that die. And so we have to stand strongly with 

Israel at this moment. We always should. I am very proud of the 

United States and the actions that it took at the United Nations 

the other day. I am very proud of our government. We have to continue to stand by Israel in this moment. 

And I also want to thank Israel for not only capturing the murderers of the young Palestinian who was murdered, Mohammed 

Abu Khedair, 16 years old, but also condemning in the strongest 

way the murder of any person. In Israel, these people that murdered him were called terrorists and murderers as they should. Yet 

the murderers that killed the three Israeli teens are called heroes. 

That I think is the big difference. They haven’t been captured. 

They haven’t been condemned. Instead, they have been treated like 

heroes, and they have been allowed to run around and been hidden 

by the Palestinian authorities and others. 

So I want to thank, again, Israel for not only condemning the 

murder of the 16-year-old but also showing its moral courage and 

going after them, the people who perpetrated the crime and saying, 

these are the guys and, yes, they are part of our citizenry and, yes, 

they are murderers. I wish the Palestinians would do the same 

thing. And you don’t see that. 

So again, thank you very much for bringing this forward, Madam 

Chair. I appreciate it very much, and I appreciate the bipartisan 

nature. Thank you. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you very much, Mr. Vargas. 

And always leaving the best for last, Mr. Connolly of Virginia. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. Thank you, Madam Chairman. And thank you 

and the ranking member for bringing these two resolutions before 

us. 

Today we consider those two resolutions. First, H. Res. 665, 

which condemns the murder of Israeli and Palestinian children and 

the escalating violence in Israel. 

The death that Mr. Vargas just referred to touched home in my 

district. Mohammed Khedair is the cousin of one of my prominent 

constituents. And that tragedy has touched our community, our 

Palestinian community, particularly in Northern Virginia, very 

hard. 

But I echo the sentiments of Mr. Vargas. The sharp contrast between the fact that the Israeli justice system is prosecuting and 

pursuing those who perpetrated that murder is in sharp contrast 

to the absolute lack of a justice system and lack of any even semblance of adjudication and prosecution for the murder of three 

Israeli young people is for all the world to see. 

18

The sound of sirens in Israeli cities warning of rockets overhead 

and images of the growing humanitarian crisis now in Gaza should 

strengthen, it seems to me, our resolve to end this current conflict 

and to resume our pursuit for a more lasting peace in Israel and 

Palestine. Our lesson from the crisis in Israel is that violence begets violence. Hamas continues to indiscriminately fire rockets into 

Israel, threatening the lives of Israeli citizens. Just as any sovereign Nation would, Israel has taken measures to protect its civilians from harm by targeting Hamas’ operations in Gaza. 

Unfortunately, the scene in Gaza is not unfamiliar. A brutal terrorist organization with wanton disregard for human life has embedded itself in a civilian population, and it uses that civilian population as a shield. The result is a humanitarian crisis that worsens 

by the day. We should, it seems to me, do all we can to arrest this 

endless cycle before more innocent lives are lost and the gulf between Israelis and Palestinians only widens it further. 

I commend Secretary Kerry for his commitment to the peace 

process and for trying to bring both sides to the negotiating table. 

It is in the best interest of Israelis, the Palestinians, and all those 

who seek regional stability in negotiations for peace must resume. 

Hamas has now fired over 2,000 rockets into Israel proper since 

June. The rockets are poorly guided, and Hamas makes no distinction regarding its targets. Flights out of Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport were recently disrupted when a rocket detonated near that 

airport. Given this constant threat from above, Israel has taken 

measures to mitigate risks to its civilian population. 

The Iron Dome system has had an 86-percent success rate in 

intercepting missiles destined for Israeli population targets. Consistent with the United States’ close relationship with Israel and 

our commitment to its self defense, we have provided $1 billion toward the development of that successful system. This doesn’t even 

include the $351 million that was included in the Fiscal Year 2015 

National Defense Authorization Act that passed the House in June. 

Israeli defense forces have also launched Operation Protective 

Edge, sending ground troops into the Gaza to disrupt Hamas’ rocket capability and to shut down tunnels that have been used for terrorism. 

Because Hamas has intermingled its military operations with civilian populations as part of its strategy to evade discovery and engagement by the IDF, there have been civilian casualties, far too 

many, in Gaza along with the worsening humanitarian crisis. 

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees discovered 

itself Hamas rockets in a school next to a shelter for 3,000 Palestinian residents. Civilians are caught in the crosshairs of this conflict, subjected to violence, and cut off from resources or any semblance of normal life. 

It is with this in mind that I hope all of us will urge an expedited 

return to the negotiating table. For those who once criticized Secretary Kerry’s attempts at reviving the peace process, what is the 

alternative? It is a region embroiled in endless conflict and misery, 

and a fate none of us want to find acceptable for the Middle East. 

Thank you again for your leadership, Madam Chairman, and 

that of yours, Mr. Deutch, and I certainly look forward to voting 

for these resolutions today. 

19

Thank you very much. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you very much, Mr. Connolly. 

Hearing no further requests for recognition, the question occurs 

on adopting the items under consideration en bloc. 

All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed, no. 

In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it and the en bloc 

amendments are approved. 

Without objection, the items in the en bloc will be reported favorably to the full committee, and House Concurrent Resolution 107 

will be reported in the form of a single amendment in the nature 

of a substitute. 

The staff is directed to make any technical and conforming 

changes. 

I want to thank all of the members and staff for their assistance 

and cooperation that went into today’s markup. I thank you for 

coming. 

And with that, the subcommittee is adjourned. Thank you. 

[Whereupon, at 10:17 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 

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