HM 1091 2003
1	House Memorial No. ____
2	A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
3	expressing solidarity with Israel in its fight against
4	terrorism.
5
6	WHEREAS, the ongoing threat of terrorism since September
7	11, 2001, has harmed the economies of Florida and the United
8	States; damaging tourism and travel among the states and
9	creating a negative economic atmosphere hurting business and
10	producing job losses, and
11	WHEREAS, the ongoing threat of worldwide terrorism at home
12	and abroad has forced local, state, and federal resources in the
13	United States to be diverted from other critical domestic
14	programs for the purpose of enhancing public security, and
15	WHEREAS, the United States and Israel are now engaged in a
16	common struggle against terrorism and are on the front-lines of
17	a conflict thrust upon them against their will, and
18	WHEREAS, hundreds of innocent Israelis and Palestinians
19	have died tragically in violence since September 2000, and
20	WHEREAS, Palestinian organizations are engaging in an
21	organized, systematic, and deliberate campaign of terror aimed
22	at inflicting as many casualties as possible on the Israeli
23	population, including through the use of suicide terrorist
24	attacks, and
25	WHEREAS, Israel has lost nearly 700 innocent lives, which
26	as a percentage of population is commensurate with America
27	losing over 30,000 lives in the terrorist attacks on New York
28	and Washington on September 11, 2001, and
29	WHEREAS, Yasser Arafat and members of the Palestinian
30	leaders have failed to abide by their commitments to nonviolence
31	made in the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles (the Oslo
32	Accord) of September 1993, including their pledges to adhere
33	strictly to a peaceful resolution of the conflict; to resolve
34	all outstanding issues relating to permanent status through
35	negotiations; to renounce the use of terrorism and other acts of
36	violence; and to assume responsibility over all PLO elements and
37	personnel in order to assure their compliance with the
38	commitment to nonviolence, prevent violence, and discipline
39	violators, and
40	WHEREAS, the continued terrorism and incitement committed,
41	supported, and coordinated by official arms of the Palestinian
42	Authority are a direct violation of these commitments, and
43	WHEREAS, forces directly under Yasser Arafat's control,
44	particularly, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is part of
45	Arafat's Fatah organization and has been designated a Foreign
46	Terrorist Organization by the United States Government, have
47	murdered scores of innocent Israelis, and
48	WHEREAS, Yasser Arafat was directly involved in the
49	Palestinian Authority's thwarted attempt to obtain 50 tons of
50	offensive weapons shipped from Iran in the Karine-A, an effort
51	that irrefutably proved Arafat's embrace of the use and
52	escalation of violence, and
53	WHEREAS, documents from the offices of the Palestinian
54	Authority demonstrate the crucial financial support the
55	Palestinian Authority continues to provide for terrorist acts,
56	including suicide bombers, and
57	WHEREAS, the ongoing violence has hurt the economics of
58	both Israel and the Palestinian territories, damaging tourism in
59	both regions, thereby creating a negative economic atmosphere
60	hurting business and producing job losses, and
61	WHEREAS, President George W. Bush declared at a joint
62	session of Congress on September 20, 2001, that "from this day
63	forward any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism
64	will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime," and
65	WHEREAS, President Bush recently stated that he "fully
66	understands Israel's need to defend herself" and that he
67	"respects" the fact that Israelis have "seen a wave of suicide
68	bombers coming to the heart of their cities and killing innocent
69	people," and
70	WHEREAS, President Bush, in his speech of April 4, 2002,
71	stated that "the situation in which Arafat finds himself today
72	is largely of his own making," that Arafat "missed his
73	opportunities, and thereby betrayed the hopes of the people he's
74	supposed to lead," and that "given Arafat's failure, the Israeli
75	government feels it must strike at terrorist networks that are
76	killing its citizens," and
77	WHEREAS, Israel's military operations are an effort to
78	defend itself against the unspeakable horrors of ongoing
79	terrorism and are aimed only at dismantling the terrorist
80	infrastructure in the Palestinian areas, an obligation Arafat
81	himself undertook but failed to carry out, and
82	WHEREAS, Israel has made clear its intention to withdraw
83	from Palestinian areas and has already begun to do so, NOW,
84	THEREFORE,
85
86	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
87
88	That the Florida Legislature:
89	(1) Stands in solidarity with Israel as it takes necessary
90	steps to provide security to its people by dismantling the
91	terrorist infrastructure in the Palestinian areas;
92	(2) Remains committed to Israel's right to self-defense
93	and supports additional United States assistance to help Israel
94	defend itself;
95	(3) Condemns Palestinian suicide bombings;
96	(4) Condemns the ongoing support and coordination of
97	terror by Yasser Arafat and other members of the Palestinian
98	leadership;
99	(5) Demands that the Palestinian Authority at last fulfill
100	its commitment to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in the
101	Palestinian areas, including any such infrastructure associated
102	with PLO and Palestinian Authority entities tied directly to
103	Yasser Arafat;
104	(6) Is gravely concerned that Arafat's actions are not
105	those of a viable partner for peace;
106	(7) Urges all Arab states to declare their unqualified
107	opposition to all forms of terrorism, particularly suicide
108	bombing;
109	(8) Commends the President for his leadership in
110	addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, particularly the
111	efforts of the Administration to engage countries throughout the
112	region to condemn and prevent terrorism and to prevent a
113	widening of the conflict;
114	(9) Urges all parties in the region to vigorously pursue
115	efforts to establish a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in
116	the Middle East; and
117	(10) Will work as an elected body to promote tourism,
118	economic trade, and cultural exchange with the State of Israel,
119	keeping relations healthy now and into the future for the
120	benefit of Florida and Israel.
121	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
122	dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
123	President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
124	United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
125	the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.