87R28198 BPG-D
 
  By: Hughes S.R. No. 464
 
 
 
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.