On the recordJanuary 5, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the nation of Israel, one of our greatest allies in the Middle East. I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 11, Objecting to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334. U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334 calls for a Palestinian state but not a Jewish state. It does nothing to condemn or stop the Palestinian Authority's pay to slay, as we have heard talked over and over again, that rewarded over $300 million to terrorists in Israeli jails last year for crimes committed against Israeli citizens and others. It legitimizes additional efforts to isolate and sanction Israel. It declares the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, where the City of David has been excavated, and the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, as occupied territories. {time} 1800 This is absurd. Furthermore, the Obama administration refused to veto it. This shameful move broke with years of bipartisan U.S. efforts to protect Israel from deeply flawed and biased U.S. resolutions. H. Res. 11 reasserts the U.S. position that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be resolved through direct negotiations between the two parties. H. Res. 11 must pass to send a clear message to the outgoing Obama administration, to the U.N., and to the world that the United States stands with Israel.
