III 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 526 

Supporting Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 29, 2014 

Mr. REID (for himself, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. CORKER, Mr. 

CARDIN, and Mr. GRAHAM) submitted the following resolution; which was 

considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, 

and for other purposes. 

Whereas Hamas, an organization designated as a Foreign 

Terrorist Organization by the United States Department 

of State since 1997, has fired over 2,500 rockets indiscriminately from Gaza into Israel; 

Whereas Israel has a right to defend itself from Hamas’s 

constant barrage of rockets and to destroy the matrix of 

tunnels Hamas uses to smuggle weapons and Hamas 

fighters into Israel to carry out terrorist attacks; 

Whereas the Government of Israel has taken significant steps 

to protect civilians in Gaza, including dropping leaflets in 

Gaza neighborhoods in advance of Israeli military attacks, calling Palestinians on the phone urging them to 


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•SRES 526 ATS 

evacuate certain areas before the military strikes targets, 

and issuing warnings to civilians in advance of firing on 

buildings; 

Whereas Israel’s attacks have focused on terrorist targets 

such as Hamas’s munitions storage sites, areas sheltering 

Hamas’s rocket systems, Hamas’s weapons manufacturing sites, the homes of militant leaders, and on the 

vast labyrinth of tunnels Hamas’s fighters use to penetrate Israel’s territory and attack Israelis; 

Whereas Hamas uses rockets to indiscriminately target civilians in Israel; 

Whereas Israel has accepted and implemented numerous 

ceasefire agreements that Hamas has rejected; 

Whereas Hamas continued to fire rockets into Israel during 

a 24-hour truce that Hamas had itself proposed; 

Whereas Israel embraced the Egyptian-proposed ceasefire 

agreement, which Hamas resoundingly rejected on July 

27, 2014; 

Whereas Hamas intentionally uses civilians as human shields; 

Whereas Hamas refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist; 

Whereas Israel’s Iron Dome has protected Israel’s civilian 

population from the over 2,500 rockets that Hamas has 

indiscriminately fired into Israel since July 7, 2014; 

Whereas, without Iron Dome’s ability to intercept and destroy Hamas’s missiles, Israeli neighborhoods would have 

been significantly damaged and Israeli casualties would 

have been much higher; 

Whereas the United Nations Human Rights Council voted to 

accept a biased resolution establishing a Commission of 

Inquiry to determine if Israel violated human rights and 


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•SRES 526 ATS 

humanitarian law during the ongoing conflict with Gaza; 

and 

Whereas the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution makes no mention of investigating Hamas’s indiscriminate rocket attacks against Israel, nor Hamas’s policy of using Palestinian civilians as human shields: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) laments all loss of innocent civilian life; 

3 (2) condemns the United Nations Human 

4 Rights Council’s resolution on July 23, 2014, which 

5 calls for yet another prejudged investigation of Israel 

6 while making no mention of Hamas’s continued as7 sault against Israel, and also calls for an investiga8 tion into potential human rights violations by Israel 

9 in the current Gaza conflict without mentioning 

10 Hamas’s assault against innocent civilians and its 

11 use of civilian shields; 

12 (3) supports Israel’s right to defend itself 

13 against Hamas’s unrelenting and indiscriminate 

14 rocket assault into Israel and Israel’s right to de15 stroy Hamas’s elaborate tunnel system into Israel’s 

16 territory; 

17 (4) condemns Hamas’s terrorist actions and use 

18 of civilians as human shields; 

19 (5) supports United States mediation efforts for 

20 a durable ceasefire agreement that immediately ends 


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•SRES 526 ATS 

1 Hamas’s rocket assault and leads to the demili2 tarization of Gaza; and 

3 (6) supports additional funding the Government 

4 of Israel needs to replenish Iron Dome missiles and 

5 enhance Israel’s defensive capabilities. 

Æ 


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