IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1599 

Reaffirming support for Israel as a longtime friend, ally, and strategic partner 

of the United States and Israel’s right to defend itself. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2010 

Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York (for herself and Mrs. MYRICK) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming support for Israel as a longtime friend, ally, 

and strategic partner of the United States and Israel’s 

right to defend itself. 

Whereas, on May 22, 2010, a Gaza-bound flotilla, sponsored 

by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation, Insani 

Yardim Vakfi (IHH), set sail from Istanbul, Turkey, 

with hopes to direct international attention to Israel’s 

blockade of the Gaza Strip through a violent confrontation; 

Whereas 600 passengers, including radicals with ties to terrorist groups, boarded the Mavi Marmara ship in Antalya, Turkey, the lead vessel in the ‘‘Free Gaza’’ flotilla; 

Whereas, on May 31, 2010, after repeated warnings and assurances that aid would be delivered, Israeli forces interVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:56 Aug 02, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1599.IH HR1599

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•HRES 1599 IH 

cepted the flotilla that was attempting to break through 

its naval blockade of Gaza; 

Whereas five of the six ships involved in the flotilla cooperated peacefully, but activists on the Mavi Marmara, reacted violently according to a premeditated plan to incite 

violence; 

Whereas when the first Israeli soldier was lowered by helicopter onto the Mavi Marmara, militants onboard tried 

connecting the steel cables from the overhead helicopters 

to the boat’s antenna, in order to cause the helicopters 

to crash; 

Whereas when Israeli soldiers boarded the ship, Mavi 

Marmara passengers began severely beating the soldiers 

with iron rods, chairs, and wooden poles, stabbing them 

with knives, and trying to lynch them, throwing one soldier off the deck, and taking pistols from the soldiers and 

firing at them with deadly intent; 

Whereas the Turkish aid group that sent out the flotilla, 

IHH, belongs to a Saudi-based umbrella organization 

known as the Union of Good which was established to finance the foreign terrorist organization Hamas; 

Whereas the United States Treasury Department has designated the Union of Good as supporting terrorism and 

has included the organization as part of both the ‘‘Designated Charities and Potential Fundraising Front Organizations for FTOs’’ list and the Office of Foreign Assets 

Control (OFAC) list of ‘‘Specially Designated Nationals 

and Blocked Persons’’; 

Whereas, on June 14, 2010, the Government of Israel approved and launched a credible investigation into the flotilla incident with two international observers, Lord WilVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:56 Aug 02, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1599.IH HR1599

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•HRES 1599 IH 

liam David Trimble of Northern Ireland, a Nobel Peace 

Prize Laureate, and Ken Watkin, a former judge advocate general of the Canadian Armed Forces; 

Whereas Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza was put in place as 

a response to thousands of rocket attacks on Israel from 

Hamas terrorists in Gaza, is fully compliant with international law, and has succeeded in stopping terrorists 

from smuggling weapons into Gaza from the sea that can 

be used to murder innocent Israeli civilians; 

Whereas Israel has offered to fully deliver all aid intended for 

Gaza, following close inspection of any ship that attempts 

to cross its naval blockade; and 

Whereas Iranian Revolutionary Guard spokesman Ali Shirazi 

stated that the naval wing of the Iranian Revolutionary 

Guard is ready to assist further ‘‘peace flotillas’’ to Gaza 

with all its effort and capabilities: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) reaffirms its strong support for Israel as a 

3 longtime friend, ally, and strategic partner of the 

4 United States; 

5 (2) supports Israel’s right to defend itself; 

6 (3) condemns the violent, premeditated actions 

7 of the Insani Yardim Vakfi (IHH); 

8 (4) calls upon other nations to express their 

9 support for Israel’s right to defend itself and con10 demn the actions of the IHH; 

11 (5) expresses its hope that— 


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•HRES 1599 IH 

1 (A) the recent incident does not derail the 

2 Israeli-Palestinian peace process; 

3 (B) other nations continue to work toward 

4 steps to have direct negotiations, advance a 

5 two-state solution, and advance the peace proc6 ess; and 

7 (C) the recent incident does not stop ongo8 ing efforts to confront the on-going attempts of 

9 delegitimizing Israel at the United Nations; 

10 (6) denounces efforts by the naval wing of the 

11 Iranian Revolutionary Guard to escort future flo12 tillas and escalate future violent confrontations; 

13 (7) commends President Barack Obama’s 

14 strong support for Israel’s security and his unwaver15 ing support for Israel at the United Nations; 

16 (8) calls for continued strong United States 

17 leadership at the United Nations, including the utili18 zation of its veto power, to prevent any one-sided 

19 and politically tainted ‘‘internal investigation’’ from 

20 proceeding; and 

21 (9) encourages the Administration to consider 

22 whether the IHH should be placed on the list of for23 eign terrorist organizations and under a visa ban, 

24 after an examination by the intelligence community, 


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•HRES 1599 IH 

1 the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Depart2 ment of the Treasury. 

Æ 


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