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.