[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 392 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                           May 2, 2002.
Whereas the United States and Israel are now engaged in a common struggle 
        against terrorism and are on the front-lines of a conflict thrust upon 
        them against their will;
Whereas hundreds of innocent Israelis and Palestinians have died tragically in 
        violence since September 2000;
Whereas Palestinian organizations are engaging in an organized, systematic, and 
        deliberate campaign of terror aimed at inflicting as many casualties as 
        possible on the Israeli population, including through the use of suicide 
        terrorist attacks;
Whereas the number of Israelis killed during that time by suicide terrorist 
        attacks alone, on a basis proportional to the United States population, 
        is approximately 9,000, three times the number killed in the terrorist 
        attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001;
Whereas Yasir Arafat and members of the Palestinian leadership have failed to 
        abide by their commitments to nonviolence made in the Israel-PLO 
        Declaration of Principles (the ``Oslo accord'') of September 1993, 
        including their pledges (1) to adhere strictly to ``a peaceful 
        resolution of the conflict,'' (2) to resolve ``all outstanding issues 
        relating to permanent status through negotiations,'' (3) to renounce 
        ``the use of terrorism and other acts of violence,'' and (4) to ``assume 
        responsibility over all PLO elements and personnel in order to assure 
        their compliance [with the commitment to nonviolence], prevent violence, 
        and discipline violators'';
Whereas the continued terrorism and incitement committed and supported by 
        official arms of the Palestinian Authority are a direct violation of 
        these commitments;
Whereas the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is part of Arafat's Fatah 
        organization and has been designated a ``Foreign Terrorist 
        Organization'' by the United States Government, and other Fatah forces 
        have murdered scores of innocent Israelis;
Whereas forces under Yasir Arafat's direct control were involved in the 
        Palestinian Authority's thwarted attempt to obtain 50 tons of offensive 
        weapons shipped from Iran in the Karine-A, an effort that irrefutably 
        proved Arafat's embrace of the use and escalation of violence;
Whereas the Israeli Government has documents found in the offices of the 
        Palestinian Authority that demonstrate the crucial financial support the 
        Palestinian Authority continues to provide for terrorist acts, including 
        suicide bombers;
Whereas the recent escalation of Palestinian attacks, killing 46 Israelis during 
        the week of Passover, included a heinous suicide-bombing at a religious 
        ceremony which killed 27 and wounded more than a hundred, many 
        critically, and was perpetrated by a known terrorist whom Israel had 
        previously asked Yasir Arafat to arrest;
Whereas this suicide attack occurred at the very time United States envoy 
        General Anthony Zinni was attempting to negotiate a cease-fire that 
        would lead to the resumption of Israeli-Palestinians political 
        negotiations;
Whereas, just before the Passover attack, Israel had agreed to General Zinni's 
        cease-fire proposals, whereas Yasir Arafat rejected them;
Whereas Yasir Arafat continues to incite terror by, for example, saying of the 
        Passover suicide bomber, ``Oh God, give me a martyrdom like this'';
Whereas Yasir Arafat and the PLO have a long history of making and breaking 
        anti-terrorism pledges;
Whereas President George W. Bush declared at a joint session of Congress on 
        September 20, 2001, that ``[f]rom this day forward, any nation that 
        continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United 
        States as a hostile regime'';
Whereas President Bush recently stated that he ``fully understands Israel's need 
        to defend herself'' and that he ``respect(s)'' the fact that Israelis 
        have ``seen a wave of suicide bombers coming to the heart of their 
        cities and killing innocent people'';
Whereas President Bush, in his speech of April 4, 2002, stated that ``the 
        situation in which he [Arafat] finds himself today is largely of his own 
        making''; that Arafat ``missed his opportunities, and thereby betrayed 
        the hopes of the people he's supposed to lead''; and that, ``[g]iven his 
        [Arafat's] failure, the Israeli Government feels it must strike at 
        terrorist networks that are killing its citizens'';
Whereas Israel's military operations are an effort to defend itself against the 
        unspeakable horrors of ongoing terrorism and are aimed only at 
        dismantling the terrorist infrastructure in the Palestinian areas, an 
        obligation Arafat himself undertook but failed to carry out; and
Whereas the process of Israeli withdrawal is nearly complete: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) stands in solidarity with Israel as it takes necessary steps to 
        provide security to its people by dismantling the terrorist 
        infrastructure in the Palestinian areas;
            (2) remains committed to Israel's right to self-defense and supports 
        additional United States assistance to help Israel defend itself;
            (3) condemns the recent wave of Palestinian suicide bombings;
            (4) condemns the ongoing support of terror by Yasir Arafat and other 
        members of the Palestinian leadership;
            (5) demands that the Palestinian Authority at last fulfill its 
        commitment to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in the Palestinian 
        areas, including any such infrastructure associated with PLO and 
        Palestinian Authority entities tied directly to Yasir Arafat;
            (6) is gravely concerned that Arafat's actions are not those of a 
        viable partner for peace;
            (7) urges all Arab states to declare their unqualified opposition to 
        all forms of terrorism, including suicide bombing;
            (8) commends the President for his leadership in addressing the 
        Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly the efforts of the 
        Administration to engage countries throughout the region to condemn and 
        prevent terrorism and to prevent a widening of the conflict;
            (9) urges all parties in the region to pursue vigorously efforts to 
        establish a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in the Middle East; 
        and
            (10) encourages the international community to take action to 
        alleviate the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.