This summer, Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip have continued their attacks against Israeli civilians—launching dozens of rockets and incendiary balloons into Israeli communities—as the Jewish state marks 15 years since its unilateral withdrawal from that territory.

Iran has dramatically escalated its cyberwarfare efforts with a major attack on Israel’s civilian water facilities last April. This sophisticated attack reportedly aimed to increase chlorine levels in Israel’s water system, poisoning many Israelis and limiting access to clean water.

The world must not allow Iran to legally buy and sell advanced weapons. Extending the U.N. arms embargo before it expires in less than five months—on Oct. 18, 2020—is essential to safeguard our interests and reduce the chances of further conflict.

Members of Congress Sign Iran Arms Embargo & ICC Letters, Senate Committee Adopts U.S.-Israel COVID-19 Provision, & more stories.

Iran continues to violate its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) commitments while stonewalling international inspectors. Its actions have already reduced Iran’s “breakout time” to a nuclear weapon. Iran’s behavior calls into question regime claims that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful.

The U.S.-Israel relationship strengthens both countries in a wide variety of areas. While the well-known homeland security and defense benefits are most often discussed, both countries also benefit from a robust bilateral trade relationship.

The threat to Israel posed by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah has grown exponentially since the end of the Second Lebanon War in 2006. While U.N. Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1701, passed to end the war, was intended to disarm Hezbollah and demilitarize southern Lebanon, neither of these goals has been achieved—with Hezbollah in fact better armed today and southern Lebanon far more militarized.

In December, Congress finalized and approved the budget for 2020, including full funding for U.S. security assistance to Israel, along with many pro-Israel provisions. The legislation provides $3.8 billion in security funding to Israel, without added conditions, as outlined in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding—including $3.3 billion in foreign aid and $500 million for U.S.-Israel missile defense cooperation.

On Jan. 28, the Trump administration released its long-anticipated peace proposal, a detailed framework that has been in development since 2017. The 180-page U.S. proposal was composed in consultation with Israeli leaders as well as many other government officials, academics, experts and civil society leaders, including extensive discussions with leaders across the Middle East.

Countries around the world are finally abandoning the arbitrary differentiation between the Iranian terrorist proxy Hezbollah’s so-called military and political wings, recognizing that Hezbollah is, in its entirety, a terrorist organization.

Iran and its proxies have been targeting Americans for decades, killing hundreds of U.S. servicemembers in Iraq and injuring many more, led by Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-Quds Force) and one of the world’s most dangerous terrorists.

On Oct. 17, longtime pro-Israel advocate Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) passed away at the age of 68. Throughout his career, Rep. Cummings worked tirelessly to serve the nation.

Recent events illustrate the significant impact of the United States maximum pressure campaign against the Iranian regime. The United States imposed sanctions on several Chinese shipping entities and their executives in September for continuing to ship and import Iranian oil, violating U.S. sanctions already in place. Shortly after, China announced it would not proceed with a major natural gas project in Iran.

As part of a growing effort to push back on Iran’s malign activities, over the last month the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on individuals and entities supporting Iran and its terrorist proxies Hezbollah and Hamas.

The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is tragic, and the Strip’s roughly 1.8 million residents suffer severely from their own leaders’ decisions. Sadly Hamas—which prioritizes destroying Israel over providing basic needs to Palestinians—has diverted international assistance from the people of Gaza to build terror tunnels and rocket factories. This Iranian-backed terrorist organization, together with groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad, are holding Gaza’s Palestinians hostage—using them as human shields and impeding economic development in the Strip. This problem is exacerbated because Hamas hijacks international assistance and goodwill at the expense of its own people.

Since its founding in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has aimed to export its radical ideology throughout the region and beyond. To this end, Iran uses its own forces as well as proxies to attack those whom the regime opposes or who stand in the way of its expansion. Twenty-five years ago this month, Iran demonstrated its deadly terrorist reach in Argentina.

Following Israel’s founding in 1948, the roughly one million Jews living in Arab-speaking countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa faced increased violence and persecution. As a result, most of these Arab Jews immigrated to Israel, creating a highly diverse Jewish population in the nascent state. But 70 years ago this month, Israel undertook a historic mission to proactively rescue persecuted Jews in the Arab world.