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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 954 Introduced in House (IH)]

109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 954

 Urging the President to appoint a Special Envoy for Middle East Peace.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 26, 2006

Mr. Leach submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Urging the President to appoint a Special Envoy for Middle East Peace.

Whereas on June 25, 2006, members of the Hamas military wing attacked Israeli 
        forces, just outside the Gaza Strip, killing two Israeli soldiers, 
        wounding four, and kidnapping one;
Whereas Israel in response launched a military assault on Hamas operatives in 
        the Gaza Strip in an effort to secure the captured soldier's release, 
        resulting in extensive infrastructure damage and substantial Palestinian 
        casualties;
Whereas Hamas rockets also struck parts of Israel, including the southern city 
        of Ashkelon;
Whereas on July 12, 2006, Hezbollah forces crossed the international border from 
        Lebanon into northwestern Israel and attacked two Israeli vehicles, 
        killing three and kidnapping two soldiers;
Whereas Israel, Hamas, and Hezbollah have engaged in an escalating series of air 
        strikes and rocket attacks that have resulted in severe physical damage 
        and have caused Israeli, Lebanese, and Palestinian casualties;
Whereas the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and several 
        Arab governments are now engaged in diplomatic efforts to resolve the 
        ongoing Middle East crisis;
Whereas the support of Hezbollah and Hamas by Iran and Syria complicates those 
        efforts;
Whereas although there have been repeated peace initiatives for more than 58 
        years, including Camp David, the Madrid Conference, the Oslo Accords, 
        Wye River, and the Roadmap (of the Quartet--the United States, the 
        European Union, the United Nations, and the Russian Federation), the 
        process has been frought with lost opportunities and leadership lapses;
Whereas history has demonstrated that the Middle East region is likely to lurch 
        from crisis to crisis without sustained diplomatic and economic 
        engagement by the United States;
Whereas leaders of the Group of Eight (G-8) countries in St. Petersburg, Russia 
        agreed on July 16, 2006, that ``the immediate crisis results from 
        efforts by extremist forces to destabilize the region,'' that ``the root 
        cause of the problems in the region is the absence of a comprehensive 
        Middle East peace,'' that there should be ``an end to terrorist attacks 
        against Israel,'' and that there should be a ``resumption of dialogue 
        between Palestinian and Israeli political officials''; and
Whereas President George W. Bush as recently as July 22, 2006, pledged that the 
        United States will ``continue to seek a return to the road map for peace 
        in the Middle East'' that includes ``establishing a viable democratic 
        Palestinian state'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that the President should appoint a Special Envoy for Middle East 
Peace.
                                 <all>
```