Hamas Agression Forces Israel to Defend Itself

Floor Speech

Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, 400 rocket attacks from Gaza in the past 3 weeks--Israel has made several attempts to defuse the issue and the situation.

This is how Hamas responded: ``We will not agree to quiet in exchange for quiet. If Israel does not agree to our demands, I expect we will continue this battle.''

Can you imagine that? Demands from Hamas that Israel not respond to rocket attacks. That is the only way you will get quiet for quiet between Israel and Hamas.

Now, we all know where this recent exchange started. On June 12, the abduction and subsequent murder of three Israeli teenagers, suspected by Hamas members, inflamed the situation, and then it was pushed over the edge by a murder of a Palestinian boy by Jewish extremists, Mr. Speaker.

There is a difference between how both sides act. From the Israeli Prime Minister, ``I unequivocally condemn the murder of a Palestinian youth in Jerusalem. Murder, riots, incitement, vigilantism--they have no place in our democracy.''

Israel quickly tracked down and arrested the teens' suspected murderers--tracked them down and arrested them and is prosecuting them.

What is the response from Hamas? What is the like response? In response, they launched nearly 400 rockets at Israel since June 14. For a month, this has been going on--into their population centers, not into military targets, Mr. Speaker, but population centers.

Now, last week, I attended a briefing with Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer to discuss the ongoing operation in Gaza, and one of the things I found interesting was all the members that were there from Israel had on their phones an application which sounded an air raid siren every time one sounded in Israel. We could scarcely get through the briefing because they were just continually going off all around the room.

I imagined myself in my hometown, hunkered down in my basement against a rocket attack. No civilization should live this way.

Interestingly enough, we viewed surveillance video of Hamas members using their own people as human shields. The Israelis actually send a warning shot--this is the building we are going to hit, this is where you are making rockets, and we are going to attack it next.

You would think that people would run from the building, knowing it is going to be blown up, but what does Hamas do? They send people, Mr. Speaker, to the building.

I would remind everybody the responsibility for civilian casualties, when those civilians are used as human shields, lies with the party that deliberately places them at risk, namely, Hamas.

Understand, they are placing their launch sites and their factories next to mosques, next to churches, next to hospitals, next to schools. The plan is--their intent is to make sure that, when Israel responds, responds to an attack, that there are maximum casualties of civilians, so that Americans will think that the Israelis are bad, that the narrative is that Israelis are using an unmeasured response--response.

Remember, it is a response, Mr. Speaker. No other country faces daily rocket attacks against its civilians, nor would any, nor should any other nation tolerate such violence, and we strongly condemn the continued rocket fire into Israel and the deliberate targeting, again, Mr. Speaker, of citizens.

Now, this can all end. President Mahmoud Abbas can renounce the Hamas-backed unity government. How are we ever going to get to peace when their unity government is unified with terrorists, Mr. Speaker?

Since the beginning of July, the Palestinian terrorists have fired hundreds of missiles and projectiles at the population centers in Israel and, just recently, rejected the cease-fire negotiated by Egypt.

What is it that they want? Well, we know what they want. They want Israel obliterated from the map, Mr. Speaker.

For our administration, who has at times been with Israel--but not enough times--I would urge them, instead of calling on restraint for Israel, asking Israel to restrain--they are responding, Mr. Speaker, to attacks on their civilian population.

Instead of asking them to restrain, demand the PA denounce, renounce Hamas and start supporting Israel and give them the necessary resources to meet this threat.

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