US Congress passes resolution backing Israel

11.45am

WASHINGTON - The US Congress has overwhelmingly passed resolutions of solidarity with Israel, despite the Bush administration's misgivings the measures could interfere with Middle East peace efforts.

The Democratic-led Senate voted 94-2 for a resolution saying the United States and Israel were "engaged in a common struggle against terrorism," and condemning Palestinian suicide bombings.

The Republican-led House of Representatives voted 352-21, with 29 abstaining, on a more strongly worded resolution accusing Palestinian President Yasser Arafat of supporting terrorism.

The administration had tried to stall the resolutions, fearing they would generate more anger and resentment in Arab countries as it seeks cooperation to quell the violence and work toward a peace accord.

But with Congress determined to act, the White House put the best face on the votes, saying they were coming at a less sensitive stage in the negotiations.

Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat who crafted the Senate measure, said it was intended to put the chamber "on record in support of Israel's right to self-defence."

"Let every terrorist know, the American people will never abandon freedom, democracy or Israel," said House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican who pushed the resolution along with Rep. Tom Lantos of California, top Democrat on the House International Relations Committee.

"With this resolution, we will stand by Israel, we will stand for peace, and we stand for a future that brings peace and prosperity to all of the people of the Middle East," said House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, a Missouri Democrat.

But some House members have sought a far more aggressive pro-Israel stand, with House Majority leader Dick Armey, a Texas Republican, in an interview on MSNBC saying Israel should claim the entire West Bank, displacing Palestinian people.

"There are many Arab nations that have many hundreds of thousands of acres of land and soil and property and opportunity to create a Palestinian state," Armey said.

He later issued a statement to clarify his comments, saying meant that "individuals who support terrorist acts may properly be exiled from the area."

After talks with the White House, language in the House resolution saying Arafat coordinated terrorism was dropped and support for humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people was added. The tone of the Senate resolution was milder.

Still several members -- Democrats and Republicans -- criticised the House resolution as one-sided, with the potential to incite more violence.

Rep. David Obey, a Wisconsin Democrat, said the resolution "makes it harder for us to be seen as a fair-minded broker and it makes it more difficult for the administration to persuade the Arab world to take the actions they must take to achieve peace. And that in the end hurts Israel, it doesn't help it."

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican, said the measure would provoke "the hatemongers and extremists on both sides," while House Democratic Whip David Bonior of Michigan said it "wholly denies the generations of suffering of the Palestinian people."

Democratic Sens. Ernest Hollings of South Carolina and Robert Byrd of West Virginia, the only votes against the milder Senate resolution, said it was ill-timed, could work against peacemaking efforts and ignored Israel's incursions into Palestinian lands on the West Bank.

The resolutions do not have force of law, but Secretary of State Colin Powell had urged lawmakers to hold off on the measures that were being pushed as the crisis mounted.

DeLay had agreed to postpone the resolution in the Republican-led House, but pressed ahead once Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat, said the Senate would take up its measure.

The White House urged DeLay to drop language from his resolution endorsing additional aid for Israel, which annually gets nearly NZ$6.7 billion from the United States. But support for more money stayed in the measure.

- REUTERS


Feature: Middle East

Map

History of the conflict

UN: Information on the Question of Palestine

Israel's Permanent Mission to the UN

Palestine's Permanent Observer Mission to the UN

Middle East Daily

Arabic News

Arabic Media Internet Network

Jerusalem Post

Haaretz Daily

US Department of State - Middle East Peace Process

The Mitchell Plan (May 23, 2001)

The Tenet Plan (June 13, 2001)