Congr Walsh bill on UN vote

http://walsh.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=49§iontree=6,49&itemid=323


Rep. Walsh Introduces Legislation to Defend Israel in Face of Upcoming U.N. Vote on Palestinian State
09/08/11


WASHINGTON– Today, Congressman Joe Walsh introduced a resolution supporting Israel’s right to annex Judea and Samaria in the event that the Palestinian Authority continues to press for unilateral U.N. recognition of Palestinian statehood. It anticipates the General Assembly vote on recognition of Palestinian statehood scheduled for September 20. The resolution coincides with a bill being introduced in the Israeli Knesset to terminate all obligations and agreements made between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and implement full Israeli sovereignty over the land in which Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria currently reside.

“The Palestinian Authority has repeatedly violated peace agreements and has even joined forces with the terrorist group Hamas. But the United States has continued to give aid to the Palestinians on the one condition that they continue to negotiate with Israel for peace. Now the Palestinians can’t even do that and have cut Israel completely out of the process by pushing for unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood at the United Nations. This is the last straw. It is clear that the Palestinian Authority no longer has any interest in peace.”

“We must stand firmly by Israel because a strong and secure democracy in the Middle East is absolutely vital to American security. The Palestinian Authority has to negotiate directly with Israel. If it is going to continue to cut Israel out and violate its peace agreements, then the United States must support Israel’s efforts to defend its sovereignty and the security of its citizens.”

“A U.N. recognized Palestinian state would potentially put Israelis directly under the sovereignty of a group of people that have sworn the destruction of Israel and its people. This is unacceptable, and, in the absence of a negotiated peace agreement, Israel has the right to protect its citizens living in Judea and Samaria by annexing those territories.”

Congressman Walsh has introduced two other bills in defense of Israel during the 112th Congress. H.R. 1501 will withhold funding from the United Nations until it retracts the Goldstone Report, a 2009 report that accused Israel of war crimes. H.R. 2457, the Palestinian Accountability Act, will withhold funding from the Palestinian Authority until it stops inciting violence against Israel and recognizes Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish State; it will also withhold US funding to the United Nations if that body or any of its entities unilaterally recognize Palestinian statehood.