Senate Resolution
Condeming Hezbollah and Hamas
(July 18, 2006)
In July 2006, the Senate passed S.Res.534, condemning Hezbollah and Hamas and their state sponsors
and supporting Israel's exercise of its right to self-defense. The motion was passed in response to the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit by Hamas terrorists in Gaza and the attack on an IDF patrol by Hezbollah terrorists on the Israel-Lebanon border.
S.Res. 534
RESOLUTION
Condemning Hezbollah and Hamas and their state sponsors
and supporting Israel's exercise of its right to self-defense.
Whereas Israel fully complied with United Nations
Security Council Resolution 425 (adopted March 19,
1978) by completely withdrawing its forces from Lebanon,
as certified by the United Nations Security Council
and affirmed by United Nations Secretary General Kofi
Annan on June 16, 2000, when he said, `Israel has withdrawn
from [Lebanon] in full compliance with Security Council
Resolution 425.';
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution
1559 (adopted September 2, 2004) calls for the complete
withdrawal of all foreign forces and the dismantlement
of all independent militias in Lebanon;
Whereas despite Resolution 1559, the terrorist organization
Hezbollah remains active in Lebanon and has amassed
thousands of rockets aimed at northern Israel;
Whereas the Government of Lebanon, which includes
representatives of Hezbollah, has done little to dismantle
Hezbollah forces or to exert its authority and control
throughout all geographic regions of Lebanon;
Whereas Hezbollah receives financial, military, and
political support from Syria and Iran;
Whereas the United States has enacted several laws,
including the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty
Restoration Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 2151 note) and the
Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 (50 U.S.C. 1701
note), that call for the imposition of sanctions on
Syria and Iran for, among other things, their support
for terrorism and terrorist organizations;
Whereas the Government of Israel has shown restraint
in the past year even though Hezbollah has launched
at least 4 separate attacks into Israel using rockets
and ground forces;
Whereas, without provocation, on the morning of July
12, 2006, Hezbollah launched an attack into northern
Israel, killing 7 Israeli soldiers and taking 2 hostage
into Lebanon;
Whereas on June 25, 2006, despite Israel's evacuation
of Gaza in 2005, the terrorist organization Hamas,
which is also supported by Syria and Iran, entered
sovereign Israeli territory, attacked an Israeli military
base, killed 2 Israeli soldiers, and captured an Israeli
soldier, and has refused to release that soldier;
Whereas
rockets have been launched from Gaza into Israel since
Israel's evacuation of Gaza in 2005; and
Whereas both Hezbollah and Hamas refuse to recognize
Israel's right to exist and call for the destruction
of Israel: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) reaffirms its steadfast support for the State
of Israel;
(2) supports Israel's right of self-defense and Israel's
right to take appropriate action to deteraggression
by terrorist groups and their state sponsors;
(3) urges the President to continue fully supporting
Israel as Israel exercises its right of self-defense
in Lebanon and Gaza;
(4) calls for the immediate and unconditional release
of Israeli soldiers who are being held captive
by Hezbollah or Hamas;
(5) condemns the Governments of Iran and Syria for
their continued support for Hezbollah and Hamas,
and holds the Governments of Syria and Iran responsible
for the acts of aggression carried out by Hezbollah
and Hamas against Israel;
(6) condemns Hamas and Hezbollah for exploiting civilian
populations as shields and locating their military
activities in civilian areas;
(7) urges the President to use all available political
and diplomatic means, including sanctions, to persuade
the governments of Syria and Iran to end their
support of Hezbollah and Hamas;
(8) calls on the Government of Lebanon to do everything
in its power to find and free the kidnapped Israeli
soldiers being held in its territory, and to fulfill
its responsibility under United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1559 (adopted September 2, 2004)
to disband and disarm Hezbollah;
(9) calls on the United Nations Security Council
to condemn these unprovoked acts and to demand
compliance with Resolution 1559, which requires
that Hezbollah and other militias be disbanded
and disarmed, and that all foreign forces be withdrawn
from Lebanon;
(10) urges all sides to protect innocent civilian
life and infrastructure and strongly supports the
use of all diplomatic means available to free the
captured Israeli soldiers; and
(11) recognizes that thousands of American nationals
reside peacefully in Lebanon, and that those American
nationals in Lebanon concerned for their safety
should receive the full support and assistance
of the United States government.
Sources: Library of Congress |