H. Res. 34 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

January 9, 2009. 

Whereas Hamas was founded with the stated goal of destroying the State of Israel; 

Whereas Hamas has been designated by the United States as 

a Foreign Terrorist Organization; 

Whereas Hamas has refused to comply with the Quartet’s 

(the United States, the European Union, Russia, and the 

United Nations) requirements that Hamas recognize 

Israel’s right to exist, renounce violence, and agree to accept previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians; 

Whereas in June 2006, Hamas illegally crossed into Israel, 

attacked Israeli forces, and kidnaped Corporal Gilad 

Shalit, whom they continue to hold today; 

Whereas Hamas has launched thousands of rockets and mortars against Israeli population centers since 2001, and 

has launched more than 6,000 such rockets and mortars 

since Israel withdrew its civilian population and its military from Gaza in 2005; 

Whereas Hamas has increased the range and payload of its 

rockets, reportedly with support from Iran and others, 

putting hundreds of thousands of Israelis in danger of 

rocket attacks from Gaza; 
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Whereas Hamas locates elements of its terrorist infrastructure in civilian population centers, thus using innocent civilians as human shields; 

Whereas Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement on December 27, 2008, that ‘‘We strongly condemn 

the repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel 

and hold Hamas responsible for breaking the cease-fire 

and for the renewal of violence there’’; 

Whereas on December 27, 2008, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud 

Olmert said, ‘‘For approximately seven years, hundreds 

of thousands of Israeli citizens in the south have been 

suffering from missiles being fired at them . . . In such 

a situation we had no alternative but to respond. We do 

not rejoice in battle but neither will we be deterred from 

it. . . .The operation in the Gaza Strip is designed, first 

and foremost, to bring about an improvement in the security reality for the residents of the south of the country’’; 

Whereas the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including shortages of food, water, electricity, and adequate medical 

care, is becoming more acute; 

Whereas Israel has facilitated humanitarian aid to Gaza with 

hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian assistance and 

numerous ambulances entering the Gaza Strip since the 

current round of fighting began on December 27, 2008; 

Whereas on January 6, 2009, before the United Nations Security Council, Secretary Rice stated that: ‘‘The situation 

before the current events in Gaza was clearly not sustainable. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis lived under the 

daily threat of rocket attack, and frankly, no country, 

none of our countries, would have been willing to tolerate 

such a circumstance. Moreover, the people of Gaza 
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watched as insecurity and lawlessness increased and as 

their living conditions grew more dire because of Hamas’s 

actions which began with the illegal coup against the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. . .A ceasefire that returns to 

those circumstances is unacceptable and it will not last’’; 

and 

Whereas the ultimate goal of the United States is a sustainable resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that will 

ensure the welfare, security, and survival of the State of 

Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure borders, and a viable, independent, and democratic Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with 

the State of Israel: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) expresses vigorous support and unwavering commitment to the welfare, security, and survival of the 

State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure borders, and recognizes its right to act in self-defense to protect its citizens against Hamas’s unceasing 

aggression, as enshrined in the United Nations Charter; 

(2) reiterates that Hamas must end the rocket and 

mortar attacks against Israel, recognize Israel’s right to 

exist, renounce violence, agree to accept previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians, and verifiably 

dismantle its terrorist infrastructure; 

(3) encourages the Administration to work actively 

to support a durable and sustainable cease-fire in Gaza 

, as soon as possible, that prevents Hamas from retain-
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ing or rebuilding its terrorist infrastructure, including 

the capability to launch rockets and mortars against 

Israel, and thereby allowing for the long-term improvement of daily living conditions for the people of Gaza; 

(4) believes strongly that the lives of innocent civilians must be protected to the maximum extent possible, 

expresses condolences to innocent Palestinian and Israeli 

victims and their families, and reiterates that humanitarian needs in Gaza should be addressed promptly and 

responsibly; 

(5) calls on all nations— 

(A) to condemn Hamas for deliberately embedding its fighters, leaders, and weapons in private 

homes, schools, mosques, hospitals, and otherwise 

using Palestinian civilians as human shields, while 

simultaneously targeting Israeli civilians; and 

(B) to lay blame both for the breaking of the 

‘‘calm’’ and for subsequent civilian casualties in 

Gaza precisely where blame belongs, that is, on 

Hamas; 

(6) supports and encourages efforts to diminish the 

appeal and influence of extremists in the Palestinian territories, and strengthen moderate Palestinians who are 

committed to a secure and lasting peace with Israel; 
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(7) calls on Egypt to intensify its efforts to halt 

smuggling between Gaza and Egypt and affirms the willingness of the United States to continue to assist Egypt 

in these efforts; 

(8) calls for the immediate release of the kidnaped 

Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been illegally held 

in Gaza since June 2006; and 

(9) reiterates its strong support for a just and sustainable resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 

achieved through negotiations between Israel and the 

Palestinian Authority in order to ensure the welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a Jewish 

and democratic state with secure borders, and a viable, 

independent, and democratic Palestinian state living side 

by side in peace and security with the State of Israel. 

Attest: 

Clerk.