§ As the United States leads a wide coalition in an unprecedented battle against terror, Israel remains its staunch ally, offering, as it always has, unwavering support.

§ The relationship between the United States and Israel has stood the test of time. It is built upon the foundation of the common values the two countries share. This long, close relationship between the United States and Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, is built on common values and strategic interest. The two are related–democratic countries tend to respect human rights and share strategic interests.

§ Since September 11, the United States has experienced terror on our shores. Focused on the obligation and right to protect its citizens, our government is vigorously responding to the terrorist threat.

§ The Palestinians launched the Terror Intifada against Israel in September 2000. The Palestinian Authority cannot shirk its responsibility for the wave of violence and terrorism that has followed. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer and other government officials have recently made clear that the United States is disappointed by Arafat’s lack of will to crack down on Palestinian militants, including shutting down terrorist groups. "We've had some very serious conversations…, saying that words are not enough to prove that one is against terrorism, it requires actions “ said Kurtzer. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs David Satterfield has described the Terror Intifada as “an ongoing process of calculated terror and escalation" and condemned the Palestinian leadership for failing to act against terrorists as promised. President Bush in his address to the United Nations declared: “We must unite in opposing all terrorists, not just some of them. In this world there are good causes and bad causes, and we may disagree on where the line is drawn. Yet, there is no such thing as a good terrorist. No national aspiration,no remembered wrong can ever justify the deliberate murder of the innocent.”

§ Arafat and the Palestinian Authority provide cover and sanctuary for the largest coalition of terrorist groups from the MiddleEast to Afghanistan. Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, terrorist groups with long and bloody records, now on the US list of terror organizations, have been allowed to operate against Israel with impunity from Palestinian territory. In the period from August 9, 2001, the date of the barbarous suicide bombing at the Sbarro Pizzeria in Jerusalem where 15 were murdered, through November 6, 2001, 54 Israelis were killed in terrorist attacks by these terrorist groups (in proportion to the populations of the two countries, this is the equivalent of over 3200 Americans). This toll included the unprecedented assassination of a Cabinet Minister in Jerusalem. Since September 2000 approximately 200 Israelis have been killed (the equivalent of 12,000 Americans).

§ The Palestinians have not complied with their obligation, outlined by the terms of the Oslo accords, to police these terrorists. It is therefore incumbent upon the Israeli government to take those steps necessary to prevent attacks in Israel and to protect its citizens. Israel will continue to pursue its right to self-defense whenever the Palestinian Authority leadership fails to take the steps necessary to curb terror. Israel must reserve for itself freedom of action to respond to the security needs of its people.

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