Calling for Release of Israeli Soldiers Held Captive by Hamas and Hezbollah

Floor Speech

CALLING FOR RELEASE OF ISRAELI SOLDIERS HELD CAPTIVE BY HAMAS AND HEZBOLLAH

* Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I join with my good friend Congressman GARY ACKERMAN in calling for the unconditional release of the three kidnapped Israeli soldiers held hostage for more than six months by Hezbollah and Hamas. I am proud to co-sponsor it, and to have our Committee bring it up for consideration by the House.

* A few weeks ago we were honored by the presence in the Capitol of Karnit Goldwasser, whose husband Ehud remains in Hezbollah's hands. She is a model of strength, courage, and loving commitment.

* I put my arm around this young woman--having recently celebrated my 57th anniversary with my own lovely wife--and I assured her that we in the Congress will do our best to see to it that she and her beloved husband Ehud also will have the opportunity to celebrate many anniversaries together in the years ahead.

* As everyone knows, Mr. Speaker, Hezbollah and Hamas are the guilty parties in the outbreak of violence in the Middle East last summer. They committed acts of war by crossing into Israeli territory, acts of terror by taking three young Israeli soldiers captive, and vicious unprovoked attacks against Israel's civilian population.

* While the immediate fighting between Israel and these terrorist organizations has subsided, the initial causes for the violence, lamentably, have not yet been addressed. Primary among these is the fact that the three young men, Gilad Shalit, Eldad Regev, and Ehud Goldwasser, remain in captivity.

* Mr. Speaker, the fighting last summer ended when the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1701, which imposed a ceasefire on the Hezbollah attacks against Israel. That resolution unequivocally called for--and I quote--``the unconditional release of the abducted Israeli soldiers.''

* Therefore, their ongoing captivity is not only immoral. It is also illegal, and it represents characteristically contemptuous disregard by the terrorists for the will of the international community.

* Contrary to the most basic standards of humanitarian conduct, Hamas and Hezbollah have not even allowed access to the Israeli captives by competent medical personnel and representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

* Mr. Speaker, this appalling conduct underscores the cruel and sinister nature of the enemies that The United States and Israel face in this troubled region.

* The resolution we are considering today expresses this Congress's vision for ``a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the creation of a viable and independent Palestinian state living in peace alongside of the State of Israel.''

* I share this vision, but we all know that this vision cannot be achieved--nor can Israeli confidence be won--by sweeping under the rug the transgressions of terrorists like Hamas and Hezbollah.

* Mr. Speaker, these terrorists attacked Israel from land that the Israeli army unilaterally evacuated--evacuated in the expectation of peace. But the borders traversed by Hamas and Hezbollah have been anything but peaceful. As one insightful observer aptly described it, ``Israel pursues land-for-peace, while Hamas and Hezbollah pursue land-for-war.''

* Our own American soldiers are being victimized by terrorists every day in Iraq--terrorism sponsored by the same two nations that sponsored the kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers, Iran and Syria. So we cannot turn a blind eye when citizens of a fellow democracy fall prey to the machinations of savage terrorists.

* The Israeli soldiers must be released without delay and without preconditions. That is the Security Council's demand, and it is our demand as well. We will remain committed to the soldiers' freedom--for the sake of the fight against terrorism and for the sake of peace.

* Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution and I urge all my colleagues to do likewise.

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