[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2537 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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114th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2537
To amend the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987 with respect to certain
prohibitions regarding the Palestine Liberation Organization under that
Act.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 10, 2016
Mr. Cruz introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987 with respect to certain
prohibitions regarding the Palestine Liberation Organization under that
Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
The Act may be cited as the ``PLO Accountability Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Mission
office, representing the PLO, and by extension, the Palestinian
Authority, in Washington, DC, was opened in 1994 in order to
implement the Oslo Accords, which initiated direct negotiations
between the PLO and the Government of Israel.
(2) Section 1003 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987 (Public
Law 100-204; 22 U.S.C. 5202), makes it unlawful to ``establish
or maintain an office, headquarters, premises, or other
facilities or establishments within the jurisdiction of the
United States at the behest or direction of, or with funds
provided by the Palestine Liberation Organization or any of its
constituent groups, any successor to any of those, or any
agents thereof''.
(3) Using various authorities, the Executive branch has
waived the provisions of section 1003 of the Anti-Terrorism Act
of 1987.
(4) Article XXXI, clause 7, of the Israeli-Palestinian
Interim Agreement on the Status of the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip (September 28, 1995) states that ``Neither side shall
initiate or take any step that will change the status of the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the
permanent status negotiations''.
(5) In January 2009, the PLO sent a declaration to the
International Criminal Court under Article 12(3) of the Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court on behalf of the
Palestinian Authority.
(6) On October 31, 2011, the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted to admit
the ``State of Palestine'' as its 195th full member. Since
being admitted, the Palestinians have used UNESCO to pass anti-
Israel rulings, including a recent proposal to have the Western
Wall classified as part of the Aqsa compound.
(7) On November 29, 2012, the United Nations General
Assembly voted to accord the ``State of Palestine'' status as a
nonmember observer state at the United Nations.
(8) On April 2, 2014, the PLO joined the Geneva Conventions
as well as 13 other organizations.
(9) On January 2, 2015, the PLO acceded to the Rome
Statute, and on January 16, 2015, the Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court opened a ``preliminary examination
of the situation in Palestine'' after accepting jurisdiction of
the International Criminal Court ``over alleged crimes
committed in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East
Jerusalem, since June 13, 2014''.
(10) The PLO's decision to accede to the Rome Statute as
well as several international organizations is an attempt to
change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip outside
of direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians.
(11) On January 7, 2015, the Department of State's Office
of the Spokesperson stated, ``we have made clear our opposition
to Palestinian action in seeking to join the Rome Statute of
the International Criminal Court. This step is counter-
productive, will damage the atmosphere with the very people
with whom Palestinians ultimately need to make peace, and will
do nothing to further the aspirations of the Palestinian people
for a sovereign and independent state.''.
(12) On February 23, 2015, a jury in a New York Federal
court found the PLO and the Palestinian Authority liable for
six terrorist attacks in Israel between 2002 and 2004 that
killed 33 people and injured more than 450 others, including
United States citizens among the victims.
(13) The Federal jury ordered the PLO and the Palestinian
Authority, both of which are headed by Mahmoud Abbas, to pay
$218,500,000 in reparations to the victims and their families
of these terror acts.
(14) On April 1, 2015, the ``State of Palestine''
officially became a member of the International Criminal Court.
(15) The PLO continues to reward terrorists and their
families who commit terrorist attacks, providing a higher
reward to those with longer jail sentences.
(16) The PLO continues to refuse to disclose all of its
financial assets, including the multibillion-dollar Palestinian
National Fund (PNF) belonging to Mahmoud Abbas. The Fund is
estimated to have tens of billions of dollars, though its exact
amount is unknown. It is allegedly used by Abbas to fund
everything from his international campaign against Israel to
compensation to the families of Palestinian terrorists.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has failed
to live up to its commitment to a bilateral peace process with
Israel, renounce violence, accept Israel's right to exist,
honor previous diplomatic agreements made by the Palestinians,
and continues to circumvent a negotiated settlement with Israel
by seeking unilateral statehood at the United Nations and from
other countries, and continues to actively endorse terror;
(2) Mahmoud Abbas has purposefully blurred the lines
between the PLO and the Palestinian Authority in order to avoid
responsibility for violating previous agreements with Israel
while continuing to receive United States aid;
(3) the Palestinian initiation of an International Criminal
Court investigation, or active support for such an
investigation, that subjects Israeli nationals to an
investigation for alleged crimes against Palestinians, would
violate the Palestinians' commitment to not change the status
of the West Bank and Gaza Strip;
(4) only a solution negotiated directly between the
Israelis and Palestinians can result in a lasting peace, and
the Palestinians should not turn to outside parties, including
international organizations, to impose or otherwise influence a
solution between the parties;
(5) if the Palestinian Authority or any representation
thereof initiates or supports an investigation at the
International Criminal Court, the Secretary of State should
close the Palestine Liberation Organization Mission office in
the United States; and
(6) it is in the national security interests of the United
States to remove the PLO office from Washington, DC.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITIONS REGARDING THE PLO UNDER THE ANTI-TERRORISM ACT OF
1987.
Section 1003 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987 (22 U.S.C. 5202) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``It shall be unlawful'' and inserting
``(a) In General.--It shall be unlawful''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Waiver.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
including section 604 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act,
Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107-228), the President may waive for a
period of not more than 6 months the provisions of subsection (a) if
the President determines and certifies in writing to Congress, no less
than 45 days before the waiver is to take effect, that--
``(1)(A) the Palestinians have not, on or after April 1,
2015, obtained in the United Nations or any specialized agency
thereof the same standing as member states or full membership
as a state outside an agreement negotiated between Israel and
the Palestinians;
``(B) the Palestinians have officially ceased to be members
of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and have withdrawn
from the Rome Statute;
``(C) any preliminary examination or ongoing investigation
against Israel, the Government of Israel, the Israeli Armed or
Security Forces, or any Israeli national initiated by, or on
behalf of, the Palestinians, or referred to the ICC by a state
party, the United Nations Security Council, or a Pre-Trial
Chamber has been withdrawn and terminated;
``(D) the PLO and the Palestinian Authority no longer
provide any financial award, payment, or salary to Palestinian
terrorists imprisoned in Israel who have committed terrorist
attacks, or their families; and
``(E) the PLO and the Palestinian Authority no longer
engage in a pattern of incitement against the United States or
Israel; or
``(2) the Palestinians have entered into a final negotiated
peace agreement with, and have ceased all hostilities against,
Israel.
``(c) Definition.--In subsection (b)(1)(E), the term `incitement'
means--
``(1) statements, media, communication, or other activities
against any religion, ethnicity, or nationality;
``(2) advocacy, endorsement, or glorification of violence,
martyrdom, or terrorism; or
``(3) endorsement, glorification, honor, or other
memorialization of any person or group that has advocated,
sponsored, or committed acts of terrorism, including the naming
after or dedication to such person or group of any school,
community center, camp, stadium, public square, street, land,
landmark, waterway, or other facility.''.
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