Affirming United States support for the State of Israel's right to defend itself from terrorist attacks.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 727 Affirming United States support for the State of Israel’s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 21, 2019 Mr. GOTTHEIMER (for himself, Mr. ZELDIN, Mr. BRINDISI, Mr. VAN DREW, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Mr. MCADAMS, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. ROSE of New York, and Mr. DEUTCH) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Affirming United States support for the State of Israel’s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks. Whereas Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the Secretary of State on October 8, 1997; Whereas PIJ receives considerable support, including train- ing, weapons, and cash, from Iran, which was designated as a state sponsor of terrorism by the Secretary of State on January 19, 1984; Whereas PIJ is dedicated to destroying Israel and has claimed credit for multiple terrorist attacks in Israel, in- cluding an attack that killed New Jersey student, Alisa Flatow; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR727.IH HR727 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HRES 727 IH Whereas PIJ commander Baha Abu al-Ata was directly re- sponsible for hundreds of terrorist attacks and was plan- ning an imminent attack against Israeli civilians; Whereas Israel, like every other sovereign nation, has a re- sponsibility to protect its citizens and defend them from terrorist attacks; Whereas, since January 2018, PIJ and other terrorist groups in Gaza have fired more than 2,000 rockets at Israel; Whereas, between November 12 and 14, 2019, PIJ terrorists in Gaza launched more than 450 rockets at Israel, evacu- ating homes, schools, and hospitals, and forcing innocent Israelis to flee to bomb shelters; Whereas Iron Dome batteries and interceptors helped save countless lives in Israel and the region; Whereas, on November 14, 2019, rockets from Gaza were fired at Israel in violation of a cease-fire negotiated by Egypt and the United Nations; and Whereas terrorist groups, including PIJ, have repeatedly cho- sen to perpetuate and escalate violent conflict by firing rockets at innocent civilians in Israel: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) condemns the illegal and indiscriminate fir- 2 ing of rockets at Israel; 3 (2) supports Israel’s right to defend itself 4 against terrorist groups; 5 (3) commends the United States commitment to 6 Israel’s security, including military assistance for the 7 Iron Dome missile defense system; and 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR727.IH HR727 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HRES 727 IH (4) reaffirms the United States strong concern 1 with the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR727.IH HR727 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS