Speech #1100148569

Madam Speaker. this week the House passed House Resolution 185. which expresses the sense of the House regarding the existence of refugee populations in the Middle East. North Africa. and the Persian Gulf region. In addition to the international concern about Palestinian refugees. this resolution calls attention to the injustices suffered by Jews and other ethnic groups that have lived as minorities in the region. I fully support this resolutions call for recognition of the rights of former Jewish. Christian. and other refugees from Arab countries. While much of the resolution is important and sets forth historically accurate information. the final paragraph of the resolving clause conditions resolution of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict on resolution of "all refugees displaced from Arab countries." I share the goal of resolving all refugee issues in the Middle East. but I do not believe it is likely that they can be resolved through the Annapolis process or some future IsraeliPalestinian negotiating process. In my view. imposing such a condition will likely doom Annapolis and any subsequent goodfaith effort to follow the roadmap to a permanent twostate solution first laid out in 2003. I certainly hope that all Middle Eastern refugee issues can and will he resolved. including refugees of the Jewish. Christian. Muslim and other minority faiths. but I cannot support linking the resolution of all Middle Eastern refugee issues to the resolution of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. Its not fair to Israelis or to Palestinians to tie the resolution of their conflict to a global resolution of all Middle Eastern refugee issues. I also disagree with the way the U.S. Congress. by passing this measure. has imposed new stipulations for any agreement. which effectively ties the hands of the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators. These negotiators already have enough roadblocks to dismantle. the last thing that they need is the U.S. Congress trying to prescribe a certain method or outcome on a difficult issue in the negotiations. which is the refugee issue. Many of my colleagues and I believe the Annapolis negotiations have not gone as well as we hoped. but they are still--for the momentmoving forward. Rather than trying to impose a particular outcome on refugee issues. the Congress should express its support of the proc54. Pt. 4 4653 ess and encourage the parties to work toward resolution of the issues they have already agreed are most essential. Again. I favor reducing the impediments to a final resolution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. Instead. this weeks resolution raises a new roadblock to the implementation of the roadmap. I urge all parties to support the peace process as they carefully balance the interests of all refugees. Lets support the negotiations. move the panics to final status. and work towards of vision of peace.