|
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
WHEREAS, The Lone Star State has always been a steadfast |
|
supporter of the historic alliance between the United States and |
|
the democratic nation of Israel; and |
|
WHEREAS, In early May 2021, long-standing tensions in |
|
Jerusalem boiled over, and clashes broke out at the Al-Aqsa Mosque |
|
compound between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters; the |
|
mayhem quickly escalated into the worst spate of violence in the |
|
city since 2014, when the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli |
|
teenagers by Hamas members led to a seven-week conflict and scores |
|
of deaths in Israel; and |
|
WHEREAS, Hamas, an Islamist militant group sworn to Israel's |
|
destruction and designated as a terrorist group, began firing |
|
long-range rockets from Gaza toward Jerusalem on May 10, 2021; |
|
Israel responded by bombing targets in Gaza, and because Hamas |
|
employs civilians as human shields, more than 200 Palestinian lives |
|
were lost; and |
|
WHEREAS, Over the course of 11 days, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, |
|
and other militant groups launched more than 4,000 rockets at |
|
Israel, killing 12 people, mostly civilians; Hamas fired at |
|
nonmilitary targets, and the death toll would doubtless have been |
|
much higher, but for the Iron Dome, Israel's short-range air |
|
defense system, a tactical and technological marvel that has |
|
received substantial support from the United States; and |
|
WHEREAS, A cease-fire mediated by Egypt began at 7 p.m. EST |
|
May 20, 2021, but the history of Israeli-Palestinian hostilities is |
|
littered with agreements that have yet to resolve underlying |
|
disputes; and |
|
WHEREAS, Deeply committed to the preservation of democracies |
|
around the world, Texas has ever been a staunch ally of Israel and |
|
an opponent of its enemies and of terrorism; now, therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 87th Texas Legislature |
|
hereby express support for the democratic nation of Israel and its |
|
right to defend itself and condemn the provocative attacks against |
|
Israel by Palestinian militants. |