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Floor Speech

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, as we all know, the war between Israel and Hamas is intensifying this week.

Just as any sovereign nation would have the right to defend itself against a terrorist attack, Israel has that right as well. It took swift and decisive action to retaliate against the terrorists who invaded its land and murdered its people, but Israel now has the responsibility to eliminate Hamas's leadership and to make sure that Hamas is incapable of mounting a similar terrorist attack against Israel in the future.

To that end, the Israel Defense Forces are preparing a ground assault against the Hamas forces in Gaza. Obviously, this is a terrible situation, but we shouldn't be confused about the right and the necessity of Israel to defend itself and to eliminate the Hamas threat. Deterrence is the best way to maintain the peace and to keep bad actors like Iranian proxies, like Hamas, from doing what they did in Israel. But, with that having failed for a variety of reasons, it is now important to give Israel the flexibility they need in order to do what they must.

Hamas's unprovoked attack on Israel has killed nearly 1,400 people, including 30 Americans. That point should not be lost. American citizens have been killed in Israel by this terrorist attack. In addition, nearly 200 people have been taken hostage, and their fate remains in question. And, given the way that Hamas has used Palestinian civilians as human shields, the number of casualties in Gaza continues to rise.

Hamas's war on Israel is not fueled by a quest for liberation or freedom or anything noble but, rather, by hate. This is a clear attempt to eliminate the Jewish State by any means necessary, a goal of the No. 1 terrorist state in the world, which is Iran, and their proxies--Hamas in the south, Hezbollah in the north.

Hamas's war on Israel is pure evil, and the United States cannot and will not be silent. We have the responsibility, moral and otherwise, to support Israel with our words but, more importantly, with our actions. The United States must support Israel without delay or hesitation. We must commit ourselves to defeating this evil by, with, and through our Israeli allies.

I, like many of us, am a student of history because it helps us understand the challenges we are experiencing today and realize that many of those challenges have precedents--things that have happened in the past that should inform us about how we should respond today. As Israel and Hamas continue fighting, it can be easy to mistake this as some isolated or, perhaps, local or regional conflict, but that could not be further from the truth.

I think back to what British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain said in the fall of 1938 about the escalating conflict between Nazi Germany as it prepared to invade Czechoslovakia.

Neville Chamberlain famously said:

[It is] a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing.

Well, today, 85 years later, it is easy to see how misguided those views were, because less than 2 years after Chamberlain's remark, Nazi bombs fell on London. This faraway quarrel quickly escalated into a global war that became the deadliest conflict in human history.

I say this only to emphasize that the United States and our allies cannot brush aside this conflict and treat it as an inconsequential regional dispute. This is, in my view, a war between good and evil, and the world is carefully watching to see how America responds.

There is no question that among the most engaged spectators are Russia and China. Russia's war against Ukraine has been raging for more than a year and a half, and it is watching--Russia is watching--to see if America's support for Ukraine erodes to the point where Russia can gain an upper hand. Mr. Putin is depending on our fatigue or our being distracted from the job at hand, helping Ukraine defend itself.

At the same time, China is preparing its plans to invade Taiwan. President Xi has instructed the People's Liberation Army to be ready to do so by the year 2027, but as we know, there is no guarantee of any particular timetable. President Xi could decide to go at any time. China is hoping that the United States will be distracted by the conflict in the Middle East as it continues to build contingencies related to Taiwan.

Both see the war--both, that is Russia and China see the war--in Israel as a global distraction that could work to their benefit. Now, this is not a reason to avoid U.S. support for Israel. In fact, it is a good reason America's attention and support are so critical at this time. Russia and China and, really, the rest of the world, including our friends and allies, are watching our actions very closely. They want to know whether we are dependable, whether our allies can rely on us to stay in the fight against this evil.

Russia and China are seeing just how far they can push the boundaries of international norms before members of the rules-based international order react. What we are doing for Ukraine, together with our European allies, and what we will do for Israel are subjects of great interest in Russia and China. We cannot bow down in the face of attacks on freedom-loving people whether those attacks happen in Israel, Ukraine, or Taiwan.

Now, I know many of us are not eager to embrace America's leadership role in the world. We think, well, we have got problems here at home-- and we certainly do--but America's leadership is indispensable in rallying similarly minded nations to fight evil like this attack against Israel. Without the United States' leadership, it will never happen.

As the fighting in Israel continues, the United States must remain committed to two clear objectives. First and foremost, we must support Israel, and we must provide Israel, along with our other allies, what it needs not only to fight but to win this war. They don't need our direction or our lecturing. They know what they need to do, and we need to help them do it. That includes military aid, intelligence support, and humanitarian assistance, today and in the future, to help Israel defend its sovereignty and protect its people in a very, very dangerous neighborhood. Israel is the lone beacon of democracy in the Middle East, and we have a national interest in supporting one of our most critical allies as it responds to this terrorist invasion.

Our second goal is to prevent this war from widening. Hamas does not operate in a vacuum. It is a beneficiary of funding, weapons, and training from Iran--the world's leading sponsor of international terrorism.

I have been disturbed as I have read some press reports where Biden administration officials have said: Well, we don't see Iran's fingerprints on this attack. But that is like looking at this situation through a soda straw--ignoring history; ignoring the fact that Iran has been at war with the West, including the United States, for decades, killing American soldiers in Iraq by providing explosively formed penetrators, using proxy groups like Hamas and Hezbollah to commit terrorist attacks. So Iran's fingerprints are definitely on this attack. They may have been surprised about the timing of the attack, but attacking Israel and killing innocent Israelis is the way they do business.

As I have said for years now, Iran has provided Hamas with the money, the weapons, and the military training that it uses against Israel and other allies of the United States. According to the State Department, Iran provides up to $100 million a year to the Palestinian terrorist groups, including Hamas--$100 million a year. And people in the Biden administration have said: We don't see Iran's involvement in this attack.

Give me a break. It doesn't matter if Iran called the plays for the attack or knew about the specific timing. Tehran has bankrolled Hamas's arsenal and its capabilities and is cheering on Hamas as it kills innocent Israelis--men, women, and children.

Iran gave Hamas the tools it needed to attack Israel and to further its goal of eliminating the Jewish State. The question now is, Will Iran use this opportunity to escalate? That is why U.S. warships are positioned in the Mediterranean--to provide the deterrence necessary to deter Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah, from joining the conflict.

Our second goal must be to prevent this conflict from widening outside of Israel. The United States has a long and proud history of supporting Israel, and it is important for Hamas and its allies to understand that America's support for Israel is not just about empty words. We are committed to providing Israel with the resources it needs to defend itself whether that comes in the form of weapons, intelligence support, humanitarian assistance, or anything else.

Israel has received longstanding support from the United States and our allies, and I hope that Iran and Hezbollah recognize the high cost of expanding this conflict.

In an era of near-constant division and disagreement in Congress, I am glad this is an issue that has garnered broad, bipartisan support. Republicans and Democrats are united in purpose, as are the American people. We are committed to aiding Israel's fight against these terrorists and defending democracy in every corner of the globe.

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