IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 557 

Expressing support for the State of Israel’s inalienable right to defend itself 

in the face of an imminent nuclear or military threat from Iran, terrorist 

organizations, and the countries that harbor them. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 18, 2009 

Mr. SESSIONS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for the State of Israel’s inalienable right 

to defend itself in the face of an imminent nuclear or 

military threat from Iran, terrorist organizations, and 

the countries that harbor them. 

Whereas, on May 14, 1948, the State of Israel declared its 

independence and is a sovereign democratic nation; 

Whereas the United States was one of the first nations to 

recognize Israel’s independence; 

Whereas the United States and Israel share the common goal 

of peace in the Middle East; 

Whereas Israel is one of the United States strongest allies; 

Whereas Israel has continuously worked toward a peaceful 

coexistence with its neighbors; 


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•HRES 557 IH 

Whereas, on April 7, 2009, Vice President Joe Biden said 

that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would 

be ‘‘ill advised’’ to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities; 

Whereas Hamas and Hezbollah are listed as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the United States Department of 

State; 

Whereas since 2001, Hamas, which pledges destruction of 

Israel, has fired over 7,000 rockets and mortars at civilians from the Gaza Strip into Israeli towns; 

Whereas in 2006, the terrorist organization Hezbollah, which 

pledges allegiance to Iran, launched an attack on Israel 

from Lebanon; 

Whereas during this 2006 attack, Hezbollah fired over 3,970 

katyusha rockets into civilian centers in Northern Israel; 

Whereas Iran continues to support terrorism through its 

proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, by providing the terrorist 

organizations with financial and military assistance; 

Whereas Iran continues to support Hezbollah, despite United 

Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 that calls for 

the ‘‘disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and 

non-Lebanese militia’’; 

Whereas, on October 26, 2005, at a conference in Tehran 

called ‘‘World Without Zionism’’, Iranian President 

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated ‘‘They say how could we 

have a world without America and Zionism? But you 

know well that this slogan and goal can be achieved and 

can definitely be realized’’; 

Whereas the New York Times reported that during his October 26, 2005, speech, President Ahmadinejad called for 

‘‘this occupying regime [Israel] to be wiped off the map’’; 


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•HRES 557 IH 

Whereas, on August 3, 2006, in a speech during an emergency meeting of Muslim leaders, President Ahmadinejad 

stated that the Middle East would be better off ‘‘without 

the existence of the Zionist regime’’, called Israel an ‘‘illegitimate regime’’ with ‘‘no legal basis for its existence’’, 

and accused the United States of using Israel as a proxy 

to control the region and its oil resources; 

Whereas President Ahmadinejad continues to deny existence 

of the Jewish nation and stated on September 23, 2007, 

that ‘‘Israel is not a nation’’; 

Whereas, on March 3, 2008 at a conference in support of 

Hamas in Tehran, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali 

Khamenei called the State of Israel a ‘‘cancerous tumor’’ 

and called for ‘‘resistance’’ against the Jewish state; 

Whereas, on February 3, 2009, Iran launched its first satellite into orbit, which has dual use capabilities that could 

be applied to missiles; 

Whereas, on May 20, 2009, Iran successfully tested a surface-to-surface long range missile with an approximate 

range of 1,200 miles; 

Whereas Iran continues its pursuit of nuclear weapons; 

Whereas Iran has refused to provide the International Atomic 

Energy Agency with full transparency and access to its 

nuclear program; and 

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1803 

states that according the International Atomic Energy 

Agency, ‘‘Iran has not established full and sustained suspension of all enrichment related and reprocessing activities and heavy-water-related projects as set out in resolution 1696 (2006), 1737 (2006) and 1747 (2007) nor resumed its cooperation with the IAEA under the AddiVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:53 Jun 19, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR557.IH HR557

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•HRES 557 IH 

tional Protocol, nor taken the other steps required by the 

IAEA Board of Governors, nor complied with the provisions of Security Council resolution 1696 (2006), 1737 

(2006) and 1747 (2007) . . .’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) expresses its unequivocal support for the 

3 State of Israel’s inalienable right to defend itself in 

4 the face of an imminent nuclear or military threat 

5 from Iran, terrorist organizations, and the countries 

6 that harbor them, notwithstanding some statements 

7 made by the Obama Administration; 

8 (2) reaffirms the United States bond with 

9 Israel and pledges to continue to work with Prime 

10 Minister Netanyahu, the Israeli Government, and 

11 the people of Israel to ensure that the sovereign na12 tion continues to receive critical economic and mili13 tary assistance, including missile defense capabili14 ties, needed to address the threat of Iran; and 

15 (3) condemns the Government of Iran for its 

16 continued support of terrorism and its hateful rhet17 oric toward Israel. 

Æ 


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