HRES 268: Reaffirming the United States' commitment to a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and for other purposes.

Congress: 112 · Status: active · Israel/Palestine classification: pro-Israel

Data (JSON) — machine-readable record of this bill (identifiers, sponsor, classification, actions, and the member-by-member vote breakdown).

Official record on Congress.gov — full text, actions, and cosponsor history for HRES 268.

Sponsor: Cantor, Eric (R-VA)

Summary

Reaffirms support for a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in two states, a democratic Jewish state of Israel and a democratic Palestinian state living in peace and mutual recognition. States that any Palestinian unity government must forswear terrorism, accept Israel's right to exist, and reaffirm previous agreements made with Israel. Opposes any attempt to establish or seek recognition of a Palestinian state outside of an agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians. Urges Palestinian leaders to cease efforts at circumventing the negotiation process, including through a unilateral declaration of statehood or by seeking recognition of a Palestinian state from other nations or the United Nations (U.N.). Supports the Administration's opposition to a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state. Affirms that Palestinian efforts to circumvent direct negotiations will harm U.S.-Palestinian relations and will have implications for U.S. assistance programs for the Palestinians and the Palestinians Authority (PA). Reaffirms the U.S. statutory requirement precluding assistance to a PA that includes Hamas unless that PA and all its ministers accept Israel's right to exist and all prior agreements and understandings with the United States and Israel.

Editorial Explainer

This resolution reaffirms support for a two-state solution reached through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations only. It opposes Palestinian efforts to seek statehood recognition outside of direct talks—including unilateral declarations or appeals to the UN—and warns that such attempts could harm U.S. aid to Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority. It also reiterates an existing statutory ban on U.S. assistance to any Palestinian Authority that includes Hamas members unless they accept Israel's right to exist and all prior agreements with the U.S. and Israel.

Why it matters

This resolution constrains Palestinian diplomatic options by ruling out UN recognition or unilateral moves, effectively requiring Palestinians to negotiate only through direct bilateral talks. It ties U.S. aid conditionality to specific political positions on Hamas and prior agreements, giving Congress a tool to pressure Palestinian leadership toward negotiating terms already accepted by Israel.

Cosponsors (356)

Roll-call votes (431)