[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 171 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

  1st Session
S. RES. 171

     Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to the second 
 anniversary of the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of 
                              Principles.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

           September 13 (legislative day, September 5), 1995

 Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Mr. Brown, Mr. Lieberman, and Mr. Pell) 
 submitted the following resolution; which was read twice and referred 
                 to the Committee on Foreign Relations

           September 19 (legislative day, September 5), 1995

             Committee discharged; considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to the second 
 anniversary of the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of 
                              Principles.

Whereas the Bush administration and the Clinton administration have both worked 
        relentlessly to build on the Middle East peace process that began in 
        Madrid in October 1991, with the goal of achieving a comprehensive, 
        lasting peace between Israel and all its neighbors;
Whereas on September 13, 1993, the first major breakthrough of the Madrid peace 
        process was achieved when Israel and the Palestinians signed the 
        Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements on the 
        White House lawn;
Whereas September 13, 1995, marks the second anniversary of this important 
        breakthrough;
Whereas the United States has pledged to support the Israeli-Palestinian 
        Declaration of Principles through diplomatic and political efforts, the 
        provision of assistance, and other means;
Whereas the May 4, 1994, Cairo Agreement between Israel and the Palestinians 
        resulted in the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip and 
        the Jericho area and the establishment of a Palestinian Authority with 
        responsibility for those areas;
Whereas Israel and the Palestinian Authority are continuing negotiations on the 
        redeployment of Israeli troops out of Arab population centers in the 
        West Bank, the expansion of the Palestinian Authority's jurisdiction 
        into the areas vacated by the Israeli army, and the convening of 
        elections for a Palestinian council;
Whereas the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles helped pave the way 
        for the October 25, 1994, signing of a full peace treaty between Israel 
        and Jordan, which established full diplomatic relations and pledged to 
        resolve all future disputes by peaceful means;
Whereas the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty has resulted in rapid normalization 
        and unprecedented cooperation between the two nations in security, 
        economic development, the environment, and other areas;
Whereas the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles helped pave the way 
        for Israel to establish low-level diplomatic relations with Morocco and 
        Tunisia, and to initiate official contacts with Qatar, Oman, and 
        Bahrain;
Whereas the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council have announced their 
        decision to end all enforcement of the secondary and tertiary boycotts 
        of Israel;
Whereas extremists opposed to the Middle East peace process continue to use 
        terrorism to undermine the chances of achieving a comprehensive peace, 
        including on August 21, 1995, when a suicide bomber blew up a bus in 
        Jerusalem, killing one American and four Israeli civilians;
Whereas the issue of security and preventing acts of terrorism is and must 
        remain of paramount importance in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations; 
        and
Whereas compliance by the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian 
        Authority with all of their solemn commitments is essential to the 
        success of the peace process: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) expresses its support for the Israeli-Palestinian 
        Declaration of Principles on the second anniversary of its 
        historic signing;
            (2) supports the efforts of Israel and the Palestinians to 
        conclude an agreement on implementation of the second phase of 
        the Declaration of Principles;
            (3) condemns, in the strongest possible terms, all acts of 
        terrorism aimed at undermining the Israeli-Palestinian peace 
        negotiations and other tracks of the Middle East peace process, 
        and calls upon all parties to take all necessary steps to 
        prevent such acts;
            (4) calls upon the Palestine Liberation Organization and 
        the Palestinian Authority to comply with all of their 
        commitments;
            (5) welcomes the progress made toward peace between Israel 
        and its neighbors;
            (6) commends those Middle Eastern leaders who have 
        committed to resolve their differences through only peaceful 
        means;
            (7) reiterates its belief that a comprehensive, lasting 
        peace between Israel and its neighbors is in the national 
        interest of the United States;
            (8) encourages all participants in the Middle East peace 
        process to continue working to achieve lasting peace agreements 
        while adhering fully to all commitments made and agreements 
        reached thus far;
            (9) calls upon the Arab states to demonstrate their 
        commitment to peace by completely dismantling the Arab boycott 
        of Israel in its primary, secondary, and tertiary aspects; and
            (10) strongly supports the Middle East peace process and 
        seeks to effect policies that will help the peace process reach 
        a successful conclusion.
                                 <all>