Doug Lamborn: “my amendment would have ensured that none of the funds made available in this bill under the West Bank and Gaza program…”

“my amendment would have ensured that none of the funds made available in this bill under the West Bank and Gaza program may be made available to any individual or entity that does not expressly recognize the right of the State of Israel to exist. I brought this amendment to the floor to emphasize the strong sense of this Congress and the United States that the peace process in this region requires all participants to publicly acknowledge the fundamental right of the State of Israel to exist. Funding an organization that fails to recognize Israel is not acceptable and should not be tolerated by this Congress. While there have been many opportunities for the Palestinian Liberation Organization in particular to officially recognize Israel's right to exist, it has failed to do so. Until it is held accountable for its failure to make recognition of Israel a formal part of its charter, we as a Nation and in this Congress must be careful not to reward and enable this organization. Because Hamas controlled the Palestinian Authority after the recent elections, the last Congress felt the need to pass a law, the Palestinian Antiterrorism Act of 2006, to ensure that U.S. funds would not be provided to this terrorist regime. This law, however, does not go far enough, because it fails to make Israel's right to exist part of the law as it applies to the PLO.”