Should the House Support Improved Relations Between Israel and Arab & Muslim Majority Nations While the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process Plays Out? (H. Res. 138)

What is H. Res. 138?

(Updated July 30, 2021)

This resolution would reaffirm the House’s support for a two-state solution negotiated between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and urge the Palestinian Authority and regional Arab and Muslim-majority states to engage in negotiations with the State of Israel to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and support the normalization of bilateral relations. 

Further, it would commend Israel's ongoing efforts to improve relations with Arab and Muslim-majority states in the region and those Arab and Muslim-majority states that have taken steps to improve bilateral relations with Israel.

As a simple resolution, this legislation is non-binding and wouldn’t advance beyond the House if passed.

Argument in favor

The difficult peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the ongoing efforts to normalize Israel’s relations with Muslim- and Arab-majority states in the Middle East, deserve the House’s formal support. Expressing support for Israel’s efforts is a good gesture for one of the United States’ most important allies.

Argument opposed

This resolution implicitly endorses Netanyahu’s government in Israel, which has taken an increasingly hard-line approach towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and actually reduced the odds of the two-state solution’s success. Given this context, the House should absolutely not endorse or express its support for the current state of the peace process.

Impact

The House; House support for the two-state negotiation to the Israel-Palestine conflict; House support for the concurrent-track approach to the Middle East peace process; Israel; Palestine; the Palestinian Authority; Arab- and Muslim-majority states in the Middle East that have taken steps to improve bilateral relations with Israel; and Israeli efforts to normalize relations with other Middle Eastern nations.

Cost of H. Res. 138

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) introduced this resolution to express the House’s support for the concurrent-track approach to the Middle East peace process: 

“The Israeli-Palestinian conflict presents an immensely difficult challenge that has no easy answers. Despite the lack of progress on a formal peace agreement, Israel and some of her Arab neighbors have worked quietly and behind the scenes to improve bilateral relations in recent years. Recent signals from Arab nations, including Oman, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, underscore the opportunities that exist to improve security, stability, and prosperity in the Middle East. The concurrent-track approach, where Arab and Muslim-majority states work to improve their bilateral relations with Israel as Israel and the Palestinian Authority work concurrently to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, can help establish a new paradigm for the region. I thank my colleagues for introducing this bipartisan resolution with me and urge its timely consideration by the House.”

In a letter to his Congressional colleagues seeking cosponsors for this resolution, Rep. Hastings wrote: 

“In recent years, Israel and some of her Arab neighbors have worked to address common challenges and improve bilateral relations. This engagement is commendable, and presents a new opportunity for improving the outlook of the Middle East and advancing the two-state solution. Although there are rarely easy solutions to challenges as complex as bringing lasting peace to the Middle East, Congress should encourage and support those states willing to engage in that endeavor.”

Original cosponsor Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says: 

“The United States has every interest in helping our ally, Israel, find new opportunities for cooperation and peace with all of its neighbors. I welcome the recent advances of Oman and recent statements from Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates about Israel. These are critical steps toward a more secure Middle East. This resolution makes an important statement about Congressional expectations for establishing peace in the Middle East, and I applaud Mr. Hastings and Mr. Schweikert for their leadership on this issue.”

Original cosponsor Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA) adds: 

“There is no question in my mind that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people will only be solved when both sides are able to come together and agree on a peaceful, two-state solution. With the unwavering support of the United States and peace-loving countries in the region and around the world, I hope that we can help provide Israel and the Palestinian Authority the opportunity to seize that two-state solution. I am so proud to join my good friend Mr. Hastings in being an original co-sponsor of this resolution. Our long partnership working together on this issue is testament to how important resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is and how it transcends traditional partisan lines.”

The Foundation for Middle East Peace is critical of this resolution, which it says “offers a warm embrace and implied endorsement of Netanyahu.” It continues, saying, “While giving lip service to support for a two-state solution, this is in effect little more than” an endorsement of Netanyahu’s and the Trump administration’s failed “regional” approach to achieving false progress toward peace; an expression of the House joining Netanyahu and the Trump administration in urging regional Arab/Muslim-majority states to engage in negotiations with Israel in lieu of encouraging normalization as a by-product and benefit of peace; and a further delay of granting actual permanent status for the Palestinian state. The Foundation for Middle East Peace also criticizes this bill for saying nothing about Israeli policies and statements “that are systematically undermining and preventing the possibility of a two-state outcome (and are explicitly designed to do so” or about Netanyahu’s alliance with a political party that’s directly linked to a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization “that gleefully embraces policies that reject not only the possibility of peace, but the desirability of pursuing it.”

This resolution passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee by voice vote with the support of 32 bipartisan cosponsors, including 29 Democrats and three Republicans.

Of Note: The two-state solution is a proposed framework for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by establishing two states for two peoples: Israel for the Jewish people and Palestine for the Palestinian people. In 1993, the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) agreed on a plan to implement the two-state solution as part of the Oslo Accords. This led to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the start of negotiations to implement the plan.

However, both Israeli and Palestinian detractors have sought to disrupt this plan, as religious nationalists on both sides believe their respective governments don’t have the right to cede any part of the disputed land. Thus, negotiations to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have yet to be fully resolved.

At the launch of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftfung (Foundation) in the Palestinian Territories in June 2019, the organizaton’s director, former Knesset speaker Avrum Burg, said hope for a two-state solution is fading. Observing that the two-state solution is no longer on the table for much of Israel’s right-wing government, he said, “There were times when we had a lot of hope and talked about it. Today we still have hope, but don’t talk about it.” Burg compared the two-state solution to a supermarket product with an expiration date, implying that the date has expired for the solution.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) Press Release
  
• Sponsoring Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) Dear Colleague Letter
  
• Sponsoring Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) Introductory Remarks on Measure
  
• Foundation for Middle East Peace (Opposed)