IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 575 

Providing that Hamas and other terrorist organizations should not participate 

in elections held by the Palestinian Authority, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2005 

Mr. CANTOR (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. MCCAUL of Texas, and Mr. WEXLER) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Providing that Hamas and other terrorist organizations 

should not participate in elections held by the Palestinian 

Authority, and for other purposes. 

Whereas the foundation for the Israeli-Palestinian peace 

process was Palestinian recognition of Israel’s right to 

exist and a solemn obligation to end terrorism and violence; 

Whereas the removal of all Israeli presence in Gaza signifies 

an end to Israeli responsibility there and a shift in security responsibility of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority; 

Whereas Israel’s evacuation of Gaza affords the Palestinian 

Authority, now the responsible governing authority in 

Gaza, the opportunity to demonstrate its ability to gov-
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ern, to establish the rule of law, to end corruption, and 

thereby to demonstrate that it is a partner for peace; 

Whereas Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas 

has repeatedly called for the establishment of ‘‘One Authority, One Law, and One Gun’’; 

Whereas since the withdrawal of Israeli military forces, the 

Palestinian Authority has taken few steps to establish 

rule of law in Gaza; 

Whereas Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, and other terrorist organizations have vowed to 

continue terrorism against Israeli civilians, seek the destruction of the State of Israel, and employ violence and 

terror in fulfillment of that aim; 

Whereas the inclusion of Hamas, or any other terrorist group 

on the State Department list of foreign terrorist organizations, into the Palestinian structure could be construed 

as an implicit endorsement of their anti-American and 

anti-Israeli terrorist ideology; 

Whereas the first provision of the Road Map to Middle East 

Peace calls for the Palestinians to dismantle the terrorist 

infrastructure; 

Whereas these terrorist organizations, including Hamas and 

Islamic Jihad, operate virtually without interference from 

the Palestinian Authority; 

Whereas Hamas has announced its intention to run in Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for January 2006; 

Whereas Abbas has indicated his willingness to see Hamas 

participate in the elections without first calling for it to 

disband its militia or for it to renounce its goal of destroying the State of Israel; 
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Whereas the United States has clearly stated that armed militias attached to political parties are incompatible with 

democratic societies; 

Whereas President Bush has stated that Hamas ‘‘seeks to 

end dissent in every form, to control every aspect of life 

. . . the terrorists are preparing a future of oppression 

and misery’’; 

Whereas the forces of freedom must continue to keep an 

untiring vigil against the enemies of rising democracies; 

and 

Whereas the United States has a longstanding policy of not 

dealing or negotiating with terrorists: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) reaffirms its commitment to the safety and 

3 security of the democratic State of Israel; 

4 (2) asserts that terrorist organizations, such as 

5 Hamas, should not be permitted to participate in 

6 Palestinian elections until such organizations recog7 nize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, cease 

8 incitement, condemn terrorism, and permanently dis9 arm and dismantle their terrorist infrastructure; 

10 (3) calls on the Palestinian Authority President 

11 Abbas before the election to declare openly his inten12 tion to take action to dismantle the terrorist organi13 zations; 

14 (4) asserts that the inclusion of Hamas, or any 

15 other terrorist group on the State Department list of 
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1 foreign terrorist organizations, into the Palestinian 

2 governing structure will inevitably raise serious pol3 icy considerations for the United States, potentially 

4 undermining the continued ability of the United 

5 States to provide financial assistance and conduct 

6 normal relations with the Palestinian Authority; and 

7 (5) states its strong belief, as underlined in 

8 every recent Israeli/Palestinian peace agreement, 

9 that progress in the peace process requires sustained 

10 Palestinian effort to dismantle the terrorist infra11 structure, and that delay in confronting that prin12 cipal obligation only emboldens the opponents of 

13 peace and threatens its realization. 

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