- 342 FOR (109 Democrats + 233 Republicans)
- 80 AGAINST (76 Democrats + 4 Republicans)
RESOLUTION
Objecting to United Nations Security
Council Resolution 2334 as an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace, and for
other purposes.
Whereas the United States has long
supported a negotiated settlement leading to a sustainable two-state solution
with the democratic, Jewish state of Israel and a demilitarized, democratic
Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security;
Whereas since 1993, the United States has
facilitated direct, bilateral negotiations between both parties toward
achieving a two-state solution and ending all outstanding claims;
Whereas it is the long-standing policy of
the United States that a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict will only come through direct, bilateral negotiations between the two
parties;
Whereas it is the long-standing position of
the United States to oppose and, if necessary, veto United Nations Security
Council resolutions dictating additional binding parameters on the peace
process;
Whereas it is the long-standing position of
the United States to oppose and, if necessary, veto one-sided or anti-Israel
resolutions at the United Nations Security Council;
Whereas the United States has stood in the
minority internationally over successive Administrations in defending Israel in
international forums, including vetoing one-sided resolutions in 2011, 2006,
2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 1997, and 1995 before the United Nations Security
Council;
Whereas the United States recently signed a
new Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Israel regarding
security assistance, consistent with longstanding support for Israel among
successive Administrations and congresses and representing an important United
States commitment toward Israel’s qualitative military edge;
Whereas on November 29, 2016, the House of
Representatives unanimously passed House Concurrent Resolution 165, expressing
the sense of Congress and reaffirming longstanding United States policy in
support of a direct bilaterally negotiated settlement of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict and opposition to United Nations Security Council
resolutions imposing a solution to the conflict;
Whereas on December 23, 2016, the United
States Permanent Representative to the United Nations disregarded House Concurrent
Resolution 165 and departed from longstanding United States policy by
abstaining and permitting United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 to be
adopted under Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter;
Whereas the United States’ abstention on
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 contradicts the Oslo Accords
and its associated process that is predicated on resolving the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict between the parties through direct negotiations;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution
2334 claims that “the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian
territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity
and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major
obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution and a just, lasting and
comprehensive peace”;
Whereas by referring to the “4 June 1967
lines” as the basis for negotiations, United Nations Security Council
Resolution 2334 effectively states that the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of
Jerusalem and the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, are “occupied
territory” thereby equating these sites with outposts in the West Bank that the
Israeli government has deemed illegal;
Whereas passage of United Nations Security
Council Resolution 2334 effectively lends legitimacy to efforts by the
Palestinian Authority to impose its own solution through international
organizations and through unjustified boycotts or divestment campaigns against
Israel by calling “upon all States, bearing in mind paragraph 1 of this
resolution, to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory
of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967”, and will
require the United States and Israel to take effective action to counteract the
potential harmful impact of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334;
Whereas UNSCR 2334 did not directly call
upon Palestinian leadership to fulfill their obligations toward negotiations or
mention that part of the eventual Palestinian state is currently controlled by
Hamas, a designated terrorist organization; and
Whereas United Nations Security Council
Resolution 2334 both sought to impose or unduly influence solutions to final
status issues, and is biased against Israel: Now, therefore, be it Resolved,
That —
(1) it is the sense of the House of
Representatives that—
(A) the passage of United Nations Security Council
Resolution 2334 undermined the long-standing position of the United States to
oppose and veto United Nations Security Council resolutions that seek to impose
solutions to final status issues, or are one-sided and anti-Israel, reversing
decades of bipartisan agreement;
(B) the passage of United Nations Security
Council Resolution 2334 undermines the prospect of Israelis and Palestinians
resuming productive, direct negotiations;
(C) the passage of United Nations Security
Council Resolution 2334 contributes to the politically motivated acts of
boycott, divestment from, and sanctions against Israel and represents a
concerted effort to extract concessions from Israel outside of direct
negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, which must be actively
rejected;
(D) any future measures taken in international
or outside organizations, including the United Nations Security Council or at
the Paris conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict scheduled for January
15, 2017, to impose an agreement, or parameters for an agreement including the
recognition of a Palestinian state, will set back the cause of peace, harm the
security of Israel, run counter to the enduring partisan consensus on
strengthening the United States-Israel relationship, and weaken support for
such organizations;
(E) a durable and sustainable peace agreement
between Israel and the Palestinians will come only through direct bilateral
negotiations between the parties resulting in a Jewish, democratic state living
side-by-side next to a de-militarized Palestinian state in peace and security;
(F) the United States should work to facilitate
serious, direct negotiations between the parties without preconditions toward a
sustainable peace agreement; and
(G) the United States Government should
oppose and veto future United Nations Security Council resolutions that seek to
impose solutions to final status issues, or are one-sided and anti-Israel; and
(2) the House of Representatives opposes
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 and will work to strengthen the
United States-Israel relationship, and calls for United Nations Security
Council Resolution 2334 to be repealed or fundamentally altered so that—
(A) it is no longer one-sided and anti-Israel;
and
(B) it allows all final status issues
toward a two-state solution to be resolved through direct bilateral
negotiations between the parties.
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