[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4693 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4693

   To hold accountable the Palestine Liberation Organization and the 
             Palestinian Authority, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 9, 2002

  Mr. Blunt (for himself, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Gilman, and Mr. Menendez) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To hold accountable the Palestine Liberation Organization and the 
             Palestinian Authority, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Arafat Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Palestine Liberation Organization 
        (<plus-minus>PLO), under the leadership of Chairman Yasser 
        Arafat, has failed to abide by its promises, enumerated in the 
        Oslo Accords, to commit itself to ``a peaceful resolution of 
        the conflict between the two sides'', that ``all outstanding 
        issues relating to permanent status will be resolved through 
        negotiations'', and that the PLO ``renounces the use of 
        terrorism and other acts of violence and will assume 
        responsibility over all PLO elements and personnel in order to 
        assure their compliance, prevent violence, and discipline 
        violators''.
            (2) Yasser Arafat failed to exercise his authority and 
        responsibility to maintain law and order in the West Bank and 
        Gaza, which has resulted in ongoing acts of terrorism against 
        Israeli and American civilians in the State of Israel.
            (3) Yasser Arafat has failed, through words and deeds, to 
        offer credible security guarantees to the Palestinian and 
        Israeli peoples, and has once again violated his commitment to 
        peace through the recent purchase of 50 tons of offensive 
        weaponry from Iran.
            (4) Yasser Arafat and the forces directly under his control 
        are responsible for the murder of hundreds of innocent Israelis 
        and the wounding of thousands more since October 2000.
            (5) Yasser Arafat has been directly implicated in funding 
        and supporting terrorists who have claimed responsibility for 
        homicide bombings in Israel.
            (6) Under the present circumstances, Yasser Arafat's 
        failure to adequately respond to end the homicide bombings 
        further complicates the prospects for a resolution of the 
        conflict in that region.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the United States should continue to urge an immediate 
        and unconditional cessation of all terrorist activities and the 
        commencement of a cease-fire between Israel and the 
        Palestinians;
            (2) the Palestine Liberation Organization and the 
        Palestinian Authority should immediately surrender to Israel 
        for detention and prosecution those Palestinian extremists 
        wanted by the Government of Israel for the assassination of 
        Israeli Minister of Tourism Rehavam Zeevi; and
            (3) PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and the Palestine Liberation 
        Organization must take immediate and concrete action to--
                    (A) publicly condemn all acts of terrorism, 
                including and especially homicide bombings, which 
                murdered over 125 Israeli men, women, and children 
                during the month of March 2002 alone, and injured 
                hundreds more;
                    (B) confiscate and destroy the infrastructures of 
                terrorism, including weapons, bomb factories, and other 
                offensive materials;
                    (C) end all financial support for terrorism; and
                    (D) urge all Arab nations and individuals to 
                immediately cease funding for terrorist operations and 
                payments to the families of terrorists.
    (b) Support for Peace Efforts.--The Congress supports the 
President's efforts, in conjunction with Israel, the Arab states, and 
members of the international community, to achieve a comprehensive 
peace in the region, and encourages continued efforts by all parties.

SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.

    (a) Denial of Visas.--
            (1) Prohibition.--The Secretary of State shall not issue a 
        visa to, and the Attorney General shall not admit to the United 
        States, any member of the Palestine Liberation Organization or 
        any official from the Palestinian Authority.
            (2) Waiver.--The President may, on a case-by-case basis, 
        waive paragraph (1) if the President determines that the waiver 
        is in the national security interest of the United States. The 
        President shall report any such determination to the 
        appropriate congressional committees.
    (b) Downgrading of Status of PLO Office in the United States.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President shall 
withdraw or terminate any waiver by the President of the requirements 
of section 1003 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal 
Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5202) (prohibiting the establishment or 
maintenance of a Palestinian information office in the United States), 
except that--
            (1) such withdrawal or termination shall not prohibit the 
        operation of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine at the 
        United Nations; and
            (2) such section shall apply so as to prohibit the 
        operation of any office of the Palestine Liberation 
        Organization or the Palestinian Authority in the United States 
        from carrying out any function other than those functions 
        carried out by the Palestinian information office during the 
        period beginning on the effective date of title X of the 
        Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 
        1989, and ending on January 13, 1994.
    (c) Travel Restriction on the Senior PLO Representative at the 
United Nations.--The Secretary of State shall impose the same travel 
restrictions on the senior official of the Permanent Observer Mission 
of Palestine at the United Nations as those imposed on officials with 
the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United 
Nations.
    (d) Freezing of Assets of the PLO and the PA.--The President shall 
identify and freeze the assets of the Palestine Liberation Organization 
and the Palestinian Authority in the United States, other than those 
assets which--
            (1) the President determines are required to carry out the 
        functions of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine at the 
        United Nations;
            (2) are necessary for travel in the United States pursuant 
        to a waiver granted under subsection (a)(2); or
            (3) the President determines are necessary for any office 
        of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian 
        Authority to carry out functions permitted under subsection 
        (b)(2).

SEC. 5. REPORT ON PLO TERRORIST ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Report.--Within 30 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, and every 90 days thereafter, the President shall submit a report 
to the appropriate congressional committees detailing acts of 
terrorism, if any, committed by the Palestinian Authority, the 
Palestine Liberation Organization, or any of their constituent 
elements.
    (b) Determination Regarding Designation as Terrorist 
Organization.--The report under subsection (a) shall include a 
determination on whether on the basis of acts of terrorism described in 
the report the Palestinian Authority, the Palestine Liberation 
Organization, or any of their constituent elements will be designated 
as a foreign terrorist organization under section 219(a) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)).
    (c) Waiver.--The President may waive the requirements of this 
section if the President determines that the waiver is in the national 
security interest of the United States. The President shall report any 
such determination to the appropriate congressional committees.

SEC. 6. DURATION OF SANCTIONS.

    The sanctions imposed under this Act shall remain in effect until 
such time as the President determines and reports to the appropriate 
congressional committees that the conditions that warrant these 
sanctions no longer exist.

SEC. 7. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
means the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Foreign 
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations and the 
Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives.
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