[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2194 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2194

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 18, 2002

 Mr. McConnell (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Collins, Mr. Smith of 
Oregon, and Mr. Bennett) introduced the following bill; which was read 
        twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign 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 (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. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States continue to urge an immediate and 
        unconditional cessation of all terrorist activities and the 
        commencement of a cease-fire;
            (2) the Palestine Liberation Organization and the 
        Palestinian Authority immediately surrender to Israel for 
        detention and prosecution those Palestinian extremists wanted 
        by the Government of Israel for assassination of Israeli 
        Minister of Tourism Rehavam Zeevi;
            (3) PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and the Palestine Liberation 
        Organization 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 alone, and the injury of 
                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; and
            (4) the Congress supports the President's efforts, in 
        conjunction with Israel, the Arab states, and the international 
        community, to develop 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) based on national security considerations.
    (b) Downgrading of PLO Representation in the United States.--The 
Secretary of State shall undertake such measures as may be necessary to 
prohibit the operation of a Palestine Liberation Organization or 
Palestinian Authority office in the United States from carrying out any 
function other than those carried out by the Palestinian information 
office in existence in the United States prior to the Oslo Accords.
    (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) Seizure of Assets of the PLO and the PA and PLO Chairman Yasser 
Arafat.--The Secretary of State, in cooperation with the Attorney 
General, shall identify and seize the assets of the Palestine 
Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority in the United 
States, and the personal assets in the United States of PLO Chairman 
Yasser Arafat.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON PLO TERRORIST ACTIVITIES.

    (a) 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 Palestine Liberation Organization or any of its 
constituent elements.
    (b) The report shall include a determination on whether acts of 
terrorism warrant the designation of the PLO or any of its constituent 
elements as terrorist organizations, and if so, the President shall so 
designate the PLO or any of its constituent elements as terrorist 
organizations.
    (c) The President may waive the requirements of this section based 
on national security considerations.

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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