Res. No. 214 Title Resolution strongly condemning the brutal Palestinian suicide bomb terrorist attacks against Israel and expressing solidarity with the people of the State of Israel as well as sympathy for the loss of civilian lives in the current conflict. Body By the Speaker (Council Member Miller) and Council Members Weprin, Katz, Nelson, Felder, Moskowitz, Gerson, Koppell, Fidler, Addabbo, Baez, Brewer, DeBlasio, Gennaro, Martinez, Quinn, Recchia, Rivera, Sanders, Serrano, Vallone and Vann; also Council Member Gioia Whereas, On March 27, 2002 in Netanya, Israel, as families gathered together in the dining room of the Park Hotel to celebrate the seder on the first night of Passover, a Palestinian suicide bomber entered the premises and detonated an explosive, transforming the solemn occasion into a horrific bloodbath; and Whereas, The death toll for this Passover Massacre currently stands at twenty-eight with many of the survivors left severely wounded as a result of the carnage; and Whereas, The terrorist Islamic group Hamas has taken responsibility for this horrific attack on one of the most holy days of the Jewish year, as well as other more recent murders and suicide attacks; and Whereas, This nightmare of death and devastation is just one of the latest in a series of Palestinian suicide bombings perpetrated against Israel, which include the bombing of a Tel Aviv disco last June that killed over twenty Israelis, a Sbarro's pizza shop in Jerusalem, an attack on a Bat Mitzvah celebration, two bombings on the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall, suicide attacks at a children's shoe store as well as at café's, restaurants and buses in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem; and Whereas, In one incident, a Palestinian suicide bomber sidled up to group of Orthodox Jewish mothers standing with baby carriages outside a Jerusalem synagogue, and then proceeded to blow himself up and all those around him, many of whom were children; and an entire family, including two young daughters and a son, who were visiting Jerusalem to celebrate the Bar Mitzvah of a cousin, were among the casualties; and Whereas, In one of the more recent atrocities, a Palestinian suicide bomber destroyed a transit bus just outside the city of Haifa killing eight people and wounding more than nineteen others, among those slaughtered was the eighteen year old niece of the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Ms. Noa Shlomo; and Whereas, In the past month alone, more than 130 Israelis have been killed, most of them women, children, and the elderly; and Whereas, The people of the City of New York understand the pain and suffering caused by terrorist acts perpetrated upon civilian populations; and Whereas, After the September 11th terrorist attack the people of the City of New York are vividly aware of and sympathize with the anguish and personal loss suffered by the families of terrorist victims; and Whereas, The people of the City of New York are mindful of the need to pursue and bring to justice those individuals and organizations responsible for the creation and promotion of terrorist acts both in Afghanistan and elsewhere; and Whereas, The people of the city of New York are aware that Palestinian youngsters are encouraged to become living weapons at the behest of terrorist organizations while their families are paid off by other nations such as Iraq; and Whereas, The people of the City of New York have looked on in horror and shock at news reports and images depicting the extent of calculated brutality and terrorism inflicted upon innocent civilians by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the Al Aksa Brigade, among other terrorist entities; and Whereas, The people of the City of New York understand that there has been a loss of civilian life on all sides of this conflict; and Whereas, The people of the City of New York, possessing an abiding compassion and humanitarian spirit, express their sympathy and solidarity with the families of the civilian victims on all sides; and Whereas, The people of the City of New York strongly condemn those who employ terror to achieve political ends; and Whereas, The people of the City of New York strongly support efforts for a true and lasting peace for all parties to this conflict so that peace and prosperity may flourish in the region; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York strongly condemns the brutal Palestinian suicide bomb terrorist attacks against Israel and expresses solidarity with the people of the State of Israel as well as sympathy for the loss of all civilian life in the current conflict with the hope for a true and lasting peace that provides security for all parties.