•HRES 34 IH 
cept previous agreements between Israel and the Pal-
estinians; 
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 mor-
tars 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 mili-
tary 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; 
Whereas Hamas locates elements of its terrorist infrastruc-
ture in civilian population centers, thus using innocent ci-
vilians as human shields; 
Whereas Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a state-
ment 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 secu-
rity reality for the residents of the south of the country’’; 
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•HRES 34 IH 
Whereas the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including short-
ages 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 Se-
curity Council, Secretary Rice stated that: ‘‘The situation 
before the current events in Gaza was clearly not sustain-
able. 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 
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 Pal-
estinian 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 sustain-
able 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 bor-
ders, and a viable, independent, and democratic Pales-
tinian 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 
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•HRES 34 IH 
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 pre-
vious agreements between Israel and the Palestin-
ians, and verifiably dismantle its terrorist infrastruc-
ture; 
(3) encourages the Administration to work ac-
tively to support a durable and sustainable cease-fire 
in Gaza , as soon as possible, that prevents Hamas 
from retaining or rebuilding its terrorist infrastruc-
ture, 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 Pales-
tinian and Israeli victims and their families, and re-
iterates that humanitarian needs in Gaza should be 
addressed promptly and responsibly; 
(5) calls on all nations— 
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•HRES 34 IH 
(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 casual-
ties 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 Pales-
tinian territories, and strengthen moderate Palestin-
ians who are committed to a secure and lasting 
peace with Israel; 
(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 kid-
naped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been ille-
gally held in Gaza since June 2006; and 
(9) reiterates its strong support for a just and 
sustainable resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian con-
flict achieved through negotiations between Israel 
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•HRES 34 IH 
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 bor-
ders, and a viable, independent, and democratic Pal-
estinian state living side by side in peace and secu-
rity with the State of Israel. 
Æ 
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