Commending Palestinian People for Holding Free and Fair Presidential Election
COMMENDING PALESTINIAN PEOPLE FOR HOLDING FREE AND FAIR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION -- (House of Representatives - February 02, 2005)
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Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Today I rise in support of House Resolution 56, introduced by the House leadership, commending the Palestinian people for holding recent elections. This resolution is a reflection of our support for President Bush when he stated, ``The United States stands ready to help the Palestinian people realize their aspirations.''
The onus is on the Palestinian leadership to demonstrate that they are committed to moving peace forward by bringing an end to Palestinian terrorism. The election of Abu Mazen is a hopeful first step. Eight hundred international observers monitored the recent Palestinian presidential elections and agreed that the will of the Palestinians was adequately expressed. Palestinians from all walks of life participated in the elections, representing approximately 70 percent of eligible voters.
The Palestinian Central Election Commission has been recognized for facilitating a process whereby Palestinians could vote in a positive voting atmosphere. Commission representatives trained more than 16,000 electoral officials to staff the 2,800 polling sites throughout the West Bank and Gaza and conducted their operations in a professional way.
The Palestinian presidential election of January 9 of this year and the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for this July represent an opportunity for Palestinians to affirm their desire to end the violence and to forge a government that can respond to their needs.
We are guardedly optimistic about Abu Mazen's recent decision to ban the use of unregistered weapons by civilians.
We wish the new Palestinian leadership success in achieving a lasting peace and a prosperous future for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people and in building transparent institutions accountable to the Palestinian people.
Mr. Speaker, I commend the leadership for bringing this resolution to the floor today, and I ask my colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I thank the gentleman for his remarks, and I am so pleased that he singled out the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) who, as all of us know, recently led a delegation to Auschwitz where we commemorated the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) is a Holocaust survivor who lost family members in this horrible tragedy, and we thank him for his leadership in the House throughout the years.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I have no further requests for time, but I would like to take this opportunity to highlight and commend the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), our majority whip, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the minority whip, and all of our leadership for their efforts on this resolution.
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Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, today the House of Representatives voted to commend the Palestinians for holding free elections on January 9, 2005. We should congratulate the countless Palestinians who participated nonviolently in the historic event.
However, we must also hold the newly elected President and the entire Palestinian Authority accountable for publicly rebuking and bringing an end to terror and incitement. Until violence has ended, the U.S. should withhold its funding. U.S. taxpayers should know that their money is being spent fighting terror, not supporting it.
During the last 4 years, the Palestinian Authority failed to halt more than 22,000 attacks that killed over 1,030 Israelis. Yet, at the same time the United States gave more than $612 million in aid to the West Bank and Gaza. That's more U.S. aid to the Palestinians than in the previous 25 years combined.
Sadly, the recent elections have not produced a true disarming of the terrorists. In the 1 week following Abbas' election, terror attacks left 8 Israelis dead and prompted Israel's Prime Minister to express his outrage at the new Palestinian leadership for ``not lifting a finger'' to stop violent attacks. Just yesterday, the Jewish residents of Gush Katif were terrorized by mortar fire and a 50 kilogram explosive device was uncovered by the Israeli army at a border crossing in the Gaza Strip.
For many, the continuing violence is no surprise given Abbas' election campaign, in which he not only referred to Israel as ``the Zionist enemy,'' but said he would protect Palestinian terror groups that use rockets and other means to attack innocent Israelis.
Yesterday, Israeli intelligence chief Aharon Ze'evi confirmed that ``the preparations for terror acts continue'' among senior Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. And last week, Hamas won 77 council seats in a landslide victory in Gaza municipal elections. The terror group now controls 7 out of the 10 councils in which elections were held. In the wake of the elections, Israeli minister Natan Sharansky has unveiled a report documenting Palestinian incitement ``of virulent hatred of Jews and Israel that mandates the killing of Jews as a religious obligation.''
These recent events deserve condemnation. While the election of a Palestinian Prime Minister may be a rare experience, the historic event worth celebrating will be a true end to Palestinian terror. Since Arafat was appointed chairman of the PLO in February 1969, more than 36 years of Palestinian terror have plagued Israelis and Palestinians alike. Violence has been the one constant, and the United States should wait until Palestinian terror ends before commending or funding an apparatus of terror.
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