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| | HR0913 | | LRB101 22358 LAW 73418 r |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | | WHEREAS, In 2016, Bahrain was the only Gulf Arab state to |
| 3 | | publicly mourn the passing of former Israeli President Shimon |
| 4 | | Peres; and
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| 5 | | WHEREAS, In 2017, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa |
| 6 | | called for an end to the Arab League boycott of Israel; and
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| 7 | | WHEREAS, In 2018, Bahrain's then Foreign Minister Khaled |
| 8 | | bin Ahmed al Khalifa asserted Israel's right to defend itself |
| 9 | | and welcomed Israeli visitors to Bahrain in 2019; and
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| 10 | | WHEREAS, In 2018, the Israeli national anthem was publicly |
| 11 | | played for the first time in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) |
| 12 | | during an international judo tournament in Abu Dhabi; and
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| 13 | | WHEREAS, In 2019, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, |
| 14 | | President of the UAE, announced the appointment of the first |
| 15 | | chief rabbi in the UAE; and
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| 16 | | WHEREAS, In 2019, Israel was invited to attend the 2021 |
| 17 | | World Expo in the UAE; and
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| 18 | | WHEREAS, On August 13, 2020, Israeli Prime Minister |
| 19 | | Benjamin Netanyahu, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammad |
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| | HR0913 | - 2 - | LRB101 22358 LAW 73418 r |
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| 1 | | Bin Zayed, and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab |
| 2 | | Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan |
| 3 | | announced an agreement to fully normalize relations between |
| 4 | | their countries, and Israel agreed to suspend their proposed |
| 5 | | annexation of parts of the West Bank; and
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| 6 | | WHEREAS, On August 13, 2020, United Nations Special |
| 7 | | Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov |
| 8 | | declared his support for the agreement between the UAE and |
| 9 | | Israel, including the Israeli pledge to halt proposed |
| 10 | | annexations; Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the United |
| 11 | | Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, also welcomed the |
| 12 | | agreement; and
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| 13 | | WHEREAS, On August 29, 2020, the UAE revoked their 1972 law |
| 14 | | which prohibited business relations between individuals in |
| 15 | | Israel and the UAE, including the exchange of goods; and
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| 16 | | WHEREAS, On September 9, 2020, the Arab League declined to |
| 17 | | condemn the normalization of relations between Israel and the |
| 18 | | UAE by voting down a proposal to denounce the normalization |
| 19 | | deal; and
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| 20 | | WHEREAS, On September 10, 2020, Senior Advisor to the |
| 21 | | President Jared Kushner announced the opening of airspace over |
| 22 | | Saudi Arabia to commercial flights between Israel and Bahrain |
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| | HR0913 | - 3 - | LRB101 22358 LAW 73418 r |
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| 1 | | after Saudi Arabia opened their airspace to flights between |
| 2 | | Israel and the UAE on September 2, 2020; and
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| 3 | | WHEREAS, On September 11, 2020, Israeli Prime Minister |
| 4 | | Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa |
| 5 | | announced the establishment of full diplomatic relations |
| 6 | | between their countries; and
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| 7 | | WHEREAS, Bahrain and the UAE are the first Gulf Arab states |
| 8 | | to announce formal relations with Israel; therefore, be it
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| 9 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE |
| 10 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |
| 11 | | the Illinois House of Representatives supports the |
| 12 | | establishment of full diplomatic relations between the State of |
| 13 | | Israel and both the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain; and be it |
| 14 | | further
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| 15 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois House of Representatives calls |
| 16 | | on other Arab and Muslim countries to establish full relations |
| 17 | | with Israel with the goal of realizing peace and stability |
| 18 | | throughout the Middle East; and be it further
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| 19 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois House of Representatives |
| 20 | | reaffirms its support for a negotiated solution to the |
| 21 | | Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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