Title: Supporting the announcements of the establishment of full diplomatic relations between the State of Israel and the United Arab Emirates and the State of Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain, and for other purposes.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution supports the announcements of (1) the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain, and (2) the suspension of Israeli actions to apply sovereignty in parts of the West Bank. Further, it calls on each of these countries to encourage greater people-to-people normalization, and it calls on other Arab and Muslim countries to establish full relations with Israel. It also reaffirms the House of Representatives' support for a negotiated, two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1110 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1110

 Supporting the announcements of the establishment of full diplomatic 
relations between the State of Israel and the United Arab Emirates and 
the State of Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 15, 2020

    Mr. Engel (for himself and Mr. McCaul) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Supporting the announcements of the establishment of full diplomatic 
relations between the State of Israel and the United Arab Emirates and 
the State of Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain, and for other purposes.

Whereas, on August 13, 2020, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and 
        Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme 
        Commander of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), announced an agreement to 
        normalize relations between their two countries, and Israel agreed to 
        suspend planned annexation in parts of the West Bank;
Whereas, on September 11, 2020, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 
        Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa announced the establishment of 
        full diplomatic relations between Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain;
Whereas support for peace between Israel and its neighbors has long-standing 
        bipartisan support in Congress and among the American people;
Whereas the UAE is the first Gulf Arab state to announce formal relations with 
        Israel, followed by Bahrain;
Whereas the normalization agreements are intended to have strategic benefit for 
        participating countries and can be mutually beneficial for important 
        sectors such as investment, finance, health, civil space, civil 
        aviation, foreign policy and diplomatic affairs, and tourism and 
        culture;
Whereas following the agreement, the UAE formally abolished its boycott law, 
        allowing UAE companies and individuals to trade directly with Israel;
Whereas these agreements could pave the way for future peace or normalization 
        agreements between Israel and other Arab and Muslim countries;
Whereas the parties pledged to continue their efforts to achieve a just, 
        comprehensive, and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian 
        conflict;
Whereas the agreements build upon the decades-long leadership of the United 
        States in helping Israel broker peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan and 
        promoting peace talks between Israel and Syria, Lebanon, and the 
        Palestinians;
Whereas the United States played a pivotal role in brokering both agreements, 
        which follow years of diplomacy between the United States, Israel, the 
        United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and other partners, encouraging 
        cooperation between Israel and Gulf countries;
Whereas in 2015, Israel opened a diplomatic-level mission to the International 
        Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi, UAE;
Whereas in 2018, after an Israeli athlete won first place in an international 
        judo tournament in Abu Dhabi, the Israeli national anthem publicly 
        played for the first time in the UAE;
Whereas in 2019, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, 
        proclaimed the year 2019 to be ``The Year of Tolerance'' in the UAE, and 
        during 2019, the UAE announced the construction of the Abrahamic Family 
        House in Abu Dhabi, which will house a mosque, a church, and a synagogue 
        and the appointment of the first chief rabbi of the UAE;
Whereas the UAE is set to host the World Expo in 2021, and in 2019 event 
        organizers in Dubai invited Israel to participate;
Whereas in 2009, Bahrain's crown prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa urged 
        Arab countries to ``move toward real peace now by consulting and 
        educating our people and by reaching out to the Israeli public to 
        highlight the benefits of a genuine peace.'';
Whereas when former president Shimon Peres died in 2016, Bahrain was the only 
        Gulf country to publicly mourn his death;
Whereas in 2018, then Foreign Minister of Bahrain Khaled bin Ahmed al Khalifa 
        tweeted in Arabic that Israel ``has the right to defend itself'' and 
        said, ``we do believe that Israel is a country to stay, and we want a 
        better relation with it, and we want peace with it.'';
Whereas in order to ensure the sustainability of state-to-state normalization, 
        the agreements should be followed by greater people-to-people 
        normalization; and
Whereas in 2008, Congress enacted legislation (Public Law 110-429) amending the 
        Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) to require that any 
        certification to Congress relating to a proposed United States arms sale 
        ``to any country in the Middle East other than Israel'' must include a 
        ``determination that the sale or export of such would not adversely 
        affect Israel's qualitative military edge over military threats to 
        Israel'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the August 13, 2020, announcement of the 
        establishment of full diplomatic relations between the State of 
        Israel and the United Arab Emirates and suspension of Israeli 
        actions to apply sovereignty in parts of the West Bank;
            (2) supports the September 11, 2020, announcement of the 
        establish of full diplomatic relations between the State of 
        Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain;
            (3) calls on the governments of the State of Israel, the 
        United Arab Emirates, and the Kingdom of Bahrain to encourage 
        greater people-to-people normalization in order to facilitate 
        sustainability of the 2020 state-to-state normalization 
        agreements;
            (4) calls on other Arab and Muslim countries to establish 
        full relations with Israel with the vision of realizing full 
        peace between Israel and all of its neighbors;
            (5) reaffirms its strong support for the United States 
        requirement that a proposed sale or export of defense article 
        or defense services must be determined not to adversely affect 
        Israel's ability to counter and defeat any credible 
        conventional military threat from any individual state or 
        possible coalition of states or from non-state actors, while 
        sustaining minimal damages and casualties, through the use of 
        superior military means possessed in sufficient quantity, 
        including weapons, command, control, communication, 
        intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities 
        that in their technical characteristics are superior in 
        capability to those of such other individual or possible 
        coalition states or non-state actors, consistent with section 
        36(h) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(h)); and
            (6) reaffirms its strong support for a negotiated solution 
        to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in two states--a 
        democratic Jewish State of Israel, and a viable, democratic 
        Palestinian state--living side-by-side in peace, security, and 
        mutual recognition.
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