House passes resolution to support Israel in face of rocket attacks

The House on Friday passed a resolution by unanimous consent to express U.S. support for Israel after rocket attacks from the terrorist group Hamas. 

Rockets launched into Israel were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome system near parts of Tel Aviv. Israel’s Defense Forces said that it had hit 160 terrorist targets in Gaza overnight on Wednesday. At least 44 people died in those attacks, according to reports.

{mosads}Violence in the Middle East has escalated recently after the bodies of three kidnapped Israeli teenagers were found and a Palestinian teen was killed in an attack believed to be retaliatory.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) said the resolution supported the U.S. commitment to Israel.

“Today, the House reaffirmed its support for Israel to take all necessary and appropriate action to defend its citizens,” Royce said in a statement. “With these threats arrayed against Israel, we will continue [to] stand with the Israeli people.”

Outgoing House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the only Jewish Republican in Congress, said that the U.S. should condemn Iran for its role in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

“I call on the Obama administration to dispense with the fantasy that Iranian President Rouhani is a reformer and acknowledge the Iranian regime for what it is: the world’s most active state sponsor of terrorism and a driver of regional instability,” Cantor said.