Peter Welch: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I want to say to Mr. Ross, my friend, I agree with just about every…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I want to say to Mr. Ross, my friend, I agree with just about every single thing you say about the great State of Israel, but I disagree with you about this resolution. Let me explain why. Israel is a Jewish democratic state. It has been our strong ally. We have supported it through thick and thin, most recently with a $38 billion appropriation for their security over the next 10 years. I supported that. But this question that we face fundamentally comes down to whether we are going to support a two-state solution or move toward a one-state solution. The bottom line here is that settlement activity, every settlement that is made--600,000 settlers living in the West Bank and Jerusalem-- makes it ever-more difficult to achieve that two-state solution. President Obama, in his abstention on that veto, was acknowledging what has been the policy of this country. Ronald Reagan was opposed to settlements. You know, you get a family that settles anywhere, but in the West Bank, they put down roots. They are good people. They have a belief that the West Bank belongs Biblically to Israel. That is their view. Many politicians, including Netanyahu, appear to be embracing that. That is not the international position. It is not the unified position in Israel.…”