[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 241 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 241

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the Palestinian Authority.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 3, 2003

Mr. Graham of South Carolina submitted the following resolution; which 
           was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the Palestinian Authority.

Whereas the Palestinian people have a right to live in peace with the Israeli 
        people in a free and independent Palestinian state;
Whereas the leadership of both these peoples must be committed to moving the 
        peace process forward;
Whereas violence undermines the establishment of a free and independent 
        Palestinian state;
Whereas violence in Israel and the occupied territories effects the stability of 
        the entire region;
Whereas Yasser Arafat has taken insufficient action as Chairman of the 
        Palestinian Authority to reduce violence and terrorist acts;
Whereas Chairman Arafat has established ties to those responsible for the 
        violence;
Whereas high level officials in Chairman Arafat's administration and Chairman 
        Arafat himself have illegally imported weapons and, according to the 
        Department of State, sponsored a ship bringing more than 50 tons of 
        weapons, including rockets, explosives, and assault rifles, to the 
        Palestinian Authority;
Whereas Chairman Arafat's administration is demonstrably corrupt, as proven by 
        the findings of the International Monetary Fund with respect to the 
        actions of Chairman Arafat to redirect $900,000,000 in government 
        revenue to private bank accounts between 1995 and 2000;
Whereas the Palestinian Authority supports Hamas, an organization that is 
        committed to the destruction of the state of Israel, and which threatens 
        in its Covenant that ``Israel will exist and will continue to exist 
        until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before 
        it'';
Whereas the Palestinian Authority has supported Hamas and Islamic Jihad;
Whereas Chairman Arafat consistently refuses to accept a two-state solution to 
        the violence between Israelis and Palestinians;
Whereas the Palestinian people need a strong leader capable of controlling 
        militant groups; and
Whereas the Palestinian people need a strong leader committed to negotiating a 
        peace for them and their neighbors: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) Chairman Yasser Arafat is not an agent for peace, and 
        the United States should not continue dialogue with Chairman 
        Arafat regarding the establishment of a peace between Israelis 
        and Palestinians; and
            (2) the United States should consider reducing future 
        financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority if the 
        Palestinian Authority continues to fail to control groups like 
        Hamas and Islamic Jihad whose goal is to destroy both Israel 
        and the peace process.
                                 <all>