[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 277 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 277

To prohibit assistance to the Palestinian Authority until it withdraws 
         its request to join the International Criminal Court.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 12, 2015

 Mr. Hastings introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit assistance to the Palestinian Authority until it withdraws 
         its request to join the International Criminal Court.

    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 ``Defend Israel by Defunding 
Palestinian Foreign Aid Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) On December 31, 2014, Mahmoud Abbas, the President of 
        the Palestinian Authority, signed several international 
        conventions in an attempt to join the International Criminal 
        Court.
            (2) The Palestinian Authority has indicated that it will 
        seek to use the International Criminal Court as a means to 
        pursue charges against Israel.
            (3) The Palestinian Authority remains engaged in a unity 
        government with Hamas, a terrorist organization responsible for 
        countless deaths and whose charter declares that ``there is no 
        solution to the Palestinian question except by Jihad''.
            (4) The United States provides more than $400,000,000 in 
        assistance to the Palestinian Authority each year.
            (5) Section 7041(i)(2) of the Department of State, Foreign 
        Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2015 
        (division J of Public Law 133-235) includes limitations on 
        assistance to the Palestinian Authority if it seeks to join the 
        International Criminal Court.
            (6) The United States Government must make immediately 
        clear to the Palestinian Authority that its attempts to join 
        the International Criminal Court will carry serious 
        consequences.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON FUNDING.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no amounts may be 
obligated or expended to provide any assistance, loan guarantee, or 
debt relief to the Palestinian Authority, or any affiliated governing 
entity, until the Palestinian Authority withdraws its request to join 
the International Criminal Court.
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