46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2003
EXPRESSING SOLIDARITY WITH ISRAEL IN ITS FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM.
WHEREAS, the ongoing threat of terrorism since September 11, 2001 has hurt the economies of New Mexico and the United States, damaging tourism and creating a negative economic atmosphere; and
WHEREAS, the ongoing threat of terrorism at home and abroad has required enhanced security for our citizens and diverted local, state and federal resources from other critical domestic programs; and
WHEREAS, the United States and Israel are engaged in a common struggle against terrorism; and
WHEREAS, Palestinian organizations are conducting an organized and deliberate campaign of terror aimed at inflicting as many casualties as possible on the Israeli population; and
WHEREAS, the Palestinian campaign of terror includes the use of suicide bomber attacks; and
WHEREAS, Israel has lost nearly seven hundred lives to the Palestinian campaign of terror, which as a percentage of their population would equate to the United States losing thirty thousand lives in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; and
WHEREAS, Yasser Arafat and others in the Palestinian leadership have failed to live up to their commitment to nonviolence as set forth in the Oslo Accord; and
WHEREAS, forces directly under Yasser Arafat's control have murdered scores of innocent Israelis; and
WHEREAS, documents obtained from the offices of the Palestine authority demonstrate that the authority provides support for acts of terror, including suicide bombings; and
WHEREAS, Israel's military operations are an effort to defend itself against the ongoing acts of terror and are aimed at dismantling the terrorist infrastructure;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it express its solidarity with Israel in its fight against terrorism; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it urge all parties in the region to vigorously pursue efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.