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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Hamas was founded with the stated goal of
3destroying the State of Israel; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Hamas has been designated by the United States
5Secretary of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Hamas refuses to recognize Israel's right to
7exist, renounce violence, and accept previous agreements
8between Israel and the Palestinians; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Hamas has launched thousands of rockets and
10missiles since Israel dismantled settlements and withdrew from
11Gaza in 2005; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Terrorists in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip
13have fired approximately 900 rockets and missile shells into
14Israel this year, an increase from roughly 675 attacks in 2011
15and 350 in 2010; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Hamas has increased the range of its rockets,
17reportedly with support from Iran and others; these rockets put
18additional numbers of Israelis in danger of rocket attacks from
19Gaza; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, There are many public and private connections
2between the State of Illinois and the State of Israel and a
3desire to deepen and expand mutual opportunities; and
 
4    WHEREAS, On November 14, 2012, President Barack Obama
5condemned the rocket fire from Gaza into Israel and reiterated
6Israel's right to self-defense; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Israel, a fellow democracy, has an inherent right
8to self defense in the face of terrorist attacks; therefore, be
9it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
12we express our unwavering commitment to the security of the
13State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure
14borders and recognize and strongly support its inherent right
15to act in self-defense to protect its citizens against acts of
16terrorism; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That we state our unequivocal belief that Hamas
18must end Gaza-linked terrorist rocket and missile attacks
19against Israel, recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce
20violence, and agree to accept previous agreements between
21Israel and the Palestinians; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That we urge the United Nations Security Council
2to condemn the recent spike in Gaza-linked terrorist missile
3attacks against Israel, which risk causing civilian casualties
4in both Israel and Gaza; and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That we encourage the President to continue to
6work diplomatically with the international community to
7prevent Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist organizations
8from retaining or rebuilding the capability to launch rockets
9and missiles against Israel.