"I am extremely troubled by President Obama's call for Israel to 'act boldly' for peace.  It is not Israel who has welcomed a terrorist organization into its government.  It is not Israel that has steadfastly refused to negotiate over the last several years.  Sadly, it is the Palestinians who have done that, to the detriment of their own people and to world peace.

 

"And while I appreciate the President's recognition of how difficult it will be for Israel to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority now that Hamas is part of that government, we must go a step further and demonstrate our clear opposition to any negotiations with Hamas: the U.S. must immediately cut off funding to the Palestinian Authority until that government recognizes Israel's right to exist, agrees to abide by past agreements, renounces terrorism and releases Gilad Shalit.

 

"I am also deeply concerned by any calls for Israel to return to the armistice line that existed before 1967.  That line left Israel far too vulnerable to outside attack, and without access to many of the Jewish holy sites on the other side of the line.  Past experience demonstrates that when the Arabs have controlled the Jewish holy sites they have not permitted access to Jews.  It is therefore essential that any 'mutually agreed swaps,' as the President described them, must leave Israel more secure than it already is.

 

"At the same time, I noted that the President re-affirmed the United States' unshakeable commitment to Israel's security and the US's strong opposition to any Palestinian attempts to unilaterally declare a state.  He also made it clear that efforts to delegitimize Israel will end in failure and opposed any action at the United Nations to predetermine the outcome of the negotiations."