Israel-Hamas Conflict

Floor Speech

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Mr. GOTTHEIMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as millions of Israeli citizens are reeling from a barrage of more than 1,500 rockets fired throughout the country by the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.

In case there was any confusion, Hamas is a terrorist organization designated by the United States, dedicated to the destruction of Israel, in which Congress has and must condemn for killing innocent civilians and using women and children as human shields.

No one here should make excuses for a terrorist organization.

Who is the next target of their sympathy?

ISIS? Al-Qaida? Hezbollah?

Even though we may not always agree about Israel's policies, we should be very clear that nothing, nothing justifies a terrorist organization firing rockets at our ally. And between terrorists and a democracy, we should always choose the democracy.

Our commitment to Israel's security and its right to defend itself from terrorists is ironclad. I am glad President Biden, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense have stood with our key democratic ally, insisted that Hamas stop firing rockets, and engaged regional partners to end this crisis.

No matter our disagreements, there should be no false equivalences or excuses made by anyone on behalf of a foreign terrorist organization.

As we stand together with our historic ally, Israel, we continue to call for an end to the violence and for calm in the region for the sake of our children and families and for the sake of peace.

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