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Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) gave the following statement last night on the House floor in support of H. Res. 921, which condemns the recent attacks against the State of Israel, holds terrorists and their state-sponsors accountable and supports Israel's right to defend itself from terrorist attacks. While floor debate on the bill took place last night, a final vote did not occur until this afternoon. The resolution was overwhelmingly supported by the House by a vote of 410 to 8.
"Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and of Israel's right to defend itself from terrorist attacks. The world community has a responsibility to support Israel during these difficult times. Israel has complied with international demands by withdrawing from both the Gaza Strip and from Lebanon. Unfortunately, it seems like the governments in both of these areas are not interested in peace.
"Lebanon in particular has failed to abide by UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which requires the disarmament of Hezbollah and other militias and the deployment of the Lebanese army along its southern border. Israel has simply requested that Lebanon comply with this resolution and that Hezbollah end its attacks and return of its kidnapped soldiers.
"There has been little effort on the part of the Lebanese or Hezbollah to actually meet any of these requests however, and that is why it is critical that the United States and the world community stand behind Israel and condemn the actions of Hezbollah, the Lebanese government and Hamas.
"As we condemn these acts we must recognize the connection between Hezbollah and its international backers, Iran and Syria. It is clear that both of these nations are aiding Hezbollah with funding, munitions and even direct military advice, which is why Israel felt compelled to impose the blockade on Lebanon.
"We must ratchet up the pressure on Syria and Iran to give up their support for organized terrorist groups like Hezbollah. That is why I joined many of my other colleagues in calling on President Bush to fully implement all of the sanctions available under the Syria Accountability Act, which we passed during the last Congress. Syria is continuing its support for terrorism, and we must demonstrate the consequence of such actions.
"Madam Speaker, as Israel continues to defend itself, we should stand in support of her by putting greater pressure on nations who support terrorist attacks against her. We should do nothing less and expect nothing less of our allies if we were in such a situation. I urge my colleagues to pass this important resolution, and I urge the Bush administration to do more to hold accountable those countries who support terrorism against Israel." |
