SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 464          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 State of Texas, 87th   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.     Hughes, Perry   Seliger, Zaffirini           ____________________________________________________________         Member, Texas Senate               Member, Texas Senate         ____________________________________________________________         Member, Texas Senate               Member, Texas Senate                 ______________________________         President of the Senate                I hereby certify that the     above Resolution was adopted by     the Senate on May 31, 2021.                 ______________________________         Secretary of the Senate