1. This Act may be cited as the &short-title1;
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2. Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The security of the State of Israel is a major and enduring national security interest of the United States.
(2) A lasting peace in the Middle East region, which Israel desperately seeks, can only take root in an atmosphere free of violence and terrorism.
(3) The Palestinian people have been ill-served by leaders who, by resorting to violence and terrorism to pursue their political objectives, have brought economic and personal hardship to their people and brought a halt to efforts seeking a negotiated settlement of the conflict.
(4) The United States has an interest in a Middle East in which two states, Israel and Palestine, will live side by side in peace and security.
(5) In his speech of June 24, 2002, and in other statements, President George W. Bush outlined a comprehensive vision of the possibilities of peace in the Middle East region following a change in Palestinian leadership.
(6) President Bush stated in his June 24, 2002, speech that a stable and peaceful Palestinian state is necessary to achieve the security that Israel longs for,
and Israel has committed itself to concrete steps to achieve that end.
(7) The Palestinian state must be a reformed, peaceful, and democratic state that abandons forever the use of terror.
(8) Israel has repeatedly indicated its willingness to make painful concessions to achieve peace once there is a partner for peace on the Palestinian side.
3. The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to express the sense of Congress with respect to United States recognition of a Palestinian state;
(2) to encourage the emergence of a Palestinian leadership that is capable of achieving the reforms outlined by President Bush, including making peace with Israel, combating all forms of terrorism, and developing a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state; and
(3) to demonstrate United States willingness to provide substantial economic and humanitarian assistance, and to support large-scale multilateral assistance, to a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state, after the Palestinians have achieved the reforms outlined by President Bush and have achieved peace with Israel.
4. It is the sense of Congress that—
(1) peace between Israel and the Palestinians cannot be achieved until the Palestinian system of government has been transformed along the lines outlined in President Bush’s June 24, 2002, speech;
(2) substantial United States and international economic assistance will be needed after the Palestinians have achieved the reforms described in section 620K(c)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as added by section 6 of this Act) and have made a lasting and secure peace with Israel;
(3) any new Palestinian administration urgently should take the necessary security-related steps to allow for implementation of a performance-based road map to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict;
(4) the United States Administration should work vigorously toward the goal of two states living side-by-side in peace within secure and internationally-recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force; and
(5) the United States has a vital national security interest in a permanent, comprehensive, and just resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and particularly the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, based on the terms of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.
5. Recognition of a Palestinian State It is the sense of Congress that a Palestinian state should not be recognized by the United States until the President determines that—
(1) a new leadership of a Palestinian governing entity, not compromised by terrorism, has been elected and taken office; and
(2) the newly-elected Palestinian governing entity—
(A) has demonstrated a firm and tangible commitment to peaceful coexistence with the State of Israel and to ending anti-Israel incitement, including the cessation of all officially sanctioned or funded anti-Israel incitement;
(B) has taken sustained and effective measures to counter terrorism and terrorist financing in the West Bank and Gaza, including the dismantling of the terrorist infrastructure and the confiscation of unlawful weaponry;
(C) has established one unified Palestinian security entity that is fully cooperating with the appropriate Israeli security organizations;
(D) has achieved exclusive authority and responsibility for governing the national affairs of a Palestinian state, has taken effective steps to ensure democracy, the rule of law, and an independent judiciary, and has adopted other reforms ensuring transparent and accountable governance; and
(E) has taken effective steps to ensure that its education and communications systems promote the acceptance of Israel’s existence and of peace with Israel and actively discourage anti-Israel incitement.
6. Limitation on assistance to a Palestinian State Chapter 1 of part III of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2351 et seq.) is amended—
(1) by redesignating the second section 620G (as added by section 149 of Public Law 104–164 (110 Stat. 1436)) as section 620J and inserting such section after section 620I; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new section:
620K. Limitation on assistance to a Palestinian State
(a)
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, direct assistance may be provided under this Act or any other provision of law to the government of a Palestinian state only during a period for which a certification described in subsection (c) is in effect. The limitation contained in the preceding sentence shall not apply (A) to humanitarian or development assistance that is provided through nongovernmental organizations for the benefit of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza, or (B) to assistance that is intended to reform the Palestinian Authority and affiliated institutions, or a newly elected Palestinian governing entity, in order to help meet the requirements contained in subparagraphs (A) through (H) of subsection (c)(3) or to address the matters described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of section 5(2) of the &short-title1;.
(2) The President may waive the limitation of the first sentence of paragraph (1) if the President determines and certifies to the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate that it is vital to the national security interest of the United States to do so.
(b) Congressional notification
(1) Assistance made available under this Act or any other provision of law to a Palestinian state may not be provided until 15 days after the date on which the President has provided notice thereof to the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate in accordance with the procedures applicable to reprogramming notifications under section 634A(a) of this Act.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall cease to be effective beginning ten years after the date on which notice is first provided under such paragraph.
(c) A certification described in this subsection is a certification transmitted by the President to Congress that—
(1) a Palestinian state exists and has been recognized by the United States and Israel and admitted to the United Nations;
(2) a binding international peace agreement exists between Israel and the Palestinian state that—
(A) was freely signed by both parties;
(B) guarantees both parties’ commitment to a mutually agreed border between two states that constitutes a secure and internationally recognized boundary for both states, with no remaining territorial claims;
(C) provides a permanent resolution for both Palestinian refugees and Jewish refugees from Arab countries;
(D) provides for mutually agreeable arrangements on all remaining permanent status issues, including borders, settlements, water resources, and Jerusalem; and
(E) includes a renunciation of all remaining claims through provisions that commit both sides to the end of the conflict; and
(3) the new Palestinian government—
(A) has been democratically elected through free and fair elections, has exclusive authority and responsibility for governing the national affairs of the Palestinian state, and has achieved the reforms outlined by President Bush in his June 24, 2002, speech;
(B) has completely renounced the use of violence against the State of Israel and its citizens, is vigorously attempting to prevent any acts of terrorism against Israel and its citizens, and punishes the perpetrators of such acts in a manner commensurate with their actions;
(C) has dismantled, and terminated the funding of, any group within its territory that conducts terrorism against Israel;
(D) is engaging in ongoing and extensive security cooperation with the State of Israel;
(E) refrains from any officially sanctioned or funded statement or act designed to incite Palestinians or others against the State of Israel and its citizens;
(F) has an elected leadership not compromised by terror;
(G) has instituted clearly defined and agreed upon limits on its military; and
(H) has no alliances or agreements that pose a threat to the security of the State of Israel.
(d) Not later than 90 days after the date on which the President transmits to Congress an initial certification under subsection (c), and every 6 months thereafter for the 10-year period beginning on the date of transmittal of such certification—
(1) the President shall transmit to Congress a recertification that the requirements contained in subsection (c) are continuing to be met; or
(2) if the President is unable to make such a recertification, the President shall transmit to Congress a report that contains the reasons therefor.
(e) A certification under subsection (c) shall be deemed to be in effect beginning on the day after the last day of the 10-year period described in subsection (d) unless the President subsequently determines that the requirements contained in subsection (c) are no longer being met and the President transmits to Congress a report that contains the reasons therefor. .
7. Authorization of assistance to a Palestinian State Chapter 1 of part III of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2351 et seq.), as amended by section 6, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:
620L. Authorization of assistance to a Palestinian State
(a) The President is authorized to provide assistance to a Palestinian state in accordance with the requirements of this section.
(b) Activities to be supported Assistance provided under subsection (a) shall be used to support activities within a Palestinian state to substantially improve the economy and living conditions of the Palestinians by, among other things, providing for economic development in the West Bank and Gaza, continuing to promote democracy and the rule of law, developing water resources, assisting in security cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians, and helping with the compensation and rehabilitation of Palestinian refugees.
(c) Authorization of appropriations Of the amounts made available to carry out chapter 4 of part II of this Act for a fiscal year, there are authorized to be appropriated to the President to carry out subsections (a) and (b) such sums as may be necessary for each such fiscal year.
(d) Coordination of international assistance
(1) Beginning on the date on which the President transmits to Congress an initial certification under section 620K(c), the Secretary of State shall—
(A) seek to convene one or more donors conferences to gain commitments from other countries, multilateral institutions, and nongovernmental organizations to provide economic assistance to Palestinians;
(B) seek to ensure that such commitments to provide assistance are honored in a timely manner;
(C) promote coordination of assistance among the United States and such other countries, multilateral institutions, and nongovernmental organizations;
(D) monitor the assistance to ensure that the assistance provided to Palestinians is used for the purposes for which it was provided; and
(E) seek to ensure that other countries, multilateral institutions, and nongovernmental organizations do not provide assistance to Palestinians through entities that are designated as terrorist organizations under United States law.
(2) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, and on an annual basis thereafter, the Secretary of State shall prepare and submit to the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a report that describes the activities undertaken to meet the requirements of paragraph (1).
(3) Each report under paragraph (2) shall include a description of the amounts committed, and the amounts provided, to a Palestinian state or Palestinians during the reporting period by each country and organization. .