IV 116th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 326 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 25, 2019 Mr. Lowenthal (for himself, Ms. Bass , and Mr. Connolly ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding United States efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a negotiated two-state solution.

Whereas the special relationship between the United States and Israel is rooted in shared national security interests and shared values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law; Whereas the United States has worked for decades to strengthen Israel’s security through assistance and cooperation on defense and intelligence matters in order to enhance the safety of United States and Israeli citizens; Whereas the United States remains unwavering in its commitment to help Israel address the myriad challenges it faces, including threats from anti-Israel terrorist organizations, regional instability, horrifying violence in neighboring states, and hostile regimes that call for its destruction; Whereas the United States has long sought a just and stable future for Palestinians, and an end to the occupation, including opposing settlement activity and moves toward unilateral annexation in Palestinian territory; Whereas for more than 20 years, Presidents of the United States from both political parties and Israeli Prime Ministers had supported reaching a two-state solution that establishes a Palestinian state coexisting side by side with Israel in peace and security; Whereas United States administrations from both political parties have put forward proposals to provide a framework for negotiations toward a two-state solution, including the parameters put forward by President Bill Clinton in December 2000, the Road Map proposed by President George W. Bush in April 2003, and the principles set forth by President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry in December 2016; Whereas ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is vital to the interests of both parties; and Whereas delays to a political solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians pose a threat to the ability to maintain a Jewish and democratic state of Israel: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that— (1) only the achievement of a two-state solution that enhances stability and security in the Middle East can both— (A) ensure the State of Israel’s survival as a secure Jewish and democratic state; and (B) fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a state of their own; (2) while the United States remains indispensable to any viable effort to achieve that goal, only the Israelis and the Palestinians can make the difficult choices necessary to end their conflict; (3) the United States, with the support of regional and international partners, can play a constructive role toward ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by putting forward a proposal for achieving a two-state solution that is consistent with the broadly held consensus positions for resolving the conflict’s final status issues as reflected in previous United States proposals; and (4) a United States proposal that fails to expressly endorse a two-state solution as its objective, that expressly or tacitly encourages unilateral annexation of territory, or is otherwise inconsistent with the broadly held consensus positions for resolving the conflict’s final status issues as reflected in previous United States proposals is likely to put a peaceful end to the conflict further out of reach.