[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2956 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2956

To support the work of the United States Security Coordinator to Israel 
   and the Palestinian Authority in furthering coordination between 
           Israelis and Palestinians, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

           September 27 (legislative day, September 22), 2023

   Mr. Ossoff (for himself, Mr. Young, Mr. Lankford, and Mr. Booker) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To support the work of the United States Security Coordinator to Israel 
   and the Palestinian Authority in furthering coordination between 
           Israelis and Palestinians, 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 ``Middle East Security Coordination 
Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Peace, stability, and security in Israel and the West 
        Bank are in the national security interest of the United 
        States.
            (2) Peace, stability, and security in Israel and the West 
        Bank depend upon effective coordination and deconfliction 
        between the Israel Defense Forces and the Palestinian Authority 
        Security Forces.
            (3) The professionalism and capacity of Palestinian 
        Authority Security Forces is an important factor for safety and 
        stability in Israel and the West Bank and critical to 
        counterterrorism efforts.
            (4) Examples of security coordination between Israel and 
        the Palestinian Authority include intelligence sharing and 
        operational coordination, deconfliction mechanisms and 
        communication during Israel Defense Forces (IDF) activity in 
        the West Bank, joint counterterrorism initiatives and training, 
        facilitation of Palestinian Authority Security Forces movement 
        through Areas B and C, and the Palestinian Authority Security 
        Forces safely returning Israelis from Area A to the Israel 
        Defense Forces.
            (5) Israeli security experts have attested that 
        professionally trained and equipped and effective Palestinian 
        Authority Security Forces would reliably decrease Israel 
        Defense Forces incursions and interventions into Area A and 
        increase stability and security for Israelis and Palestinians.
            (6) The core functions of the office of the United States 
        Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority 
        (USSC) are to execute transparent and successful coordination 
        between Israeli security forces and Palestinian Authority 
        Security Forces and to raise the effectiveness of the 
        Palestinian Authority Security Forces.
            (7) Senior Israeli officials, including former defense 
        ministers and IDF chiefs of staff, have credited USSC-
        championed security coordination with the Palestinian Authority 
        Security Forces as being responsible for eroding the ability of 
        organized terror groups to carry out suicide attacks in Israeli 
        cities and towns.
            (8) The USSC maintains unique trust and confidence from 
        both Israeli and Palestinian Authority security forces, 
        agencies, and senior officials.
            (9) The multinational coalition that contributes to the 
        mission of the USSC, which includes Bulgaria, Canada, Greece, 
        Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, 
        demonstrates the support of the international community for the 
        mission, assists in sharing the personnel and resource burden, 
        and enables the United States to demonstrate a leading role, 
        which brings legitimacy to the mission and enables coordination 
        to be successful.

SEC. 3. SENSES OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Sense of Congress on Security Coordination.--It is the sense of 
Congress that--
            (1) security coordination between Israel and the 
        Palestinian Authority--
                    (A) is in the national security interest of the 
                United States;
                    (B) protects Israeli and Palestinian civilian lives 
                and combats acts of terror from groups like Hamas, 
                Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah;
                    (C) assists in reducing the need for Israeli 
                military interventions in the West Bank;
                    (D) provides greater stability and safety for the 
                Palestinian people in the West Bank; and
                    (E) supports regional peace and stability and 
                improves the prospects for progress towards a 
                negotiated resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian 
                conflict; and
            (2) the USSC is a crucial liaison for such effective 
        coordination, professionalization, and communication.
    (b) Sense of Congress on Burden Sharing.--It is the sense of 
Congress that--
            (1) the financial and personnel burden of the mission of 
        the USSC should be shared by all partners to the mission; and
            (2) the mission of the USSC should be expanded to include 
        additional nations, and the Department of State, along with the 
        USSC, should make it a priority to actively pursue 
        contributions from additional states.

SEC. 4. REPORTS.

    (a) Coordination Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for five years, the 
Secretary of State, in consultation with the USSC, shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report that describes the 
activities of the USSC during the preceding year, including 
descriptions of the security coordination activities the USSC has 
undertaken between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian 
Authority.
    (b) Classified Annex.--The reports required by subsection (a) shall 
be submitted in unclassified form and may include a classified annex.
    (c) Professionalization Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for five 
        years, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the USSC, 
        shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
        report that describes the USSC's efforts to professionalize 
        Palestinian security forces and to build, maintain, and sustain 
        Palestinian security and justice sector institutions.
            (2) Form.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall be 
        submitted in unclassified form but include a classified annex.
    (d) Burden Sharing Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 
        consultation with the USSC, shall submit to the appropriate 
        congressional committees a report that describes the viability 
        of the inclusion of contributions to the mission of the USSC 
        from additional countries, particularly those countries party 
        to the Abraham Accords and other Arab or Muslim-majority 
        countries.
            (2) Form.--The report required under paragraph (1) be 
        submitted--
                    (A) in classified form; or
                    (B) in unclassified form and including a classified 
                annex.

SEC. 5. NOTIFICATION.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the mission of the USSC is most effective with--
                    (A) a general or flag officer as the head of 
                mission;
                    (B) a head of mission rotation of at least 3 years 
                duration; and
                    (C) senior uniformed personnel rotation of at least 
                2 years duration; and
            (2) the personnel contributions of other nations to the 
        mission of the USSC are most effective with equivalent 
        rotations.
    (b) In General.--Beginning 180 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit written notice and 
justification to appropriate congressional committees and the Committee 
on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of 
the House of Representatives not later than 120 days before the date on 
which--
            (1) the head of mission of the USSC is to be replaced with 
        a non-general or flag officer;
            (2) the head of mission of the USSC is to be rotated out of 
        the head of mission's current assignment before 3 consecutive 
        years of service in that position; or
            (3) any senior uniform personnel rotation of the USSC is to 
        be rotated out of their current assignment before 2 consecutive 
        years of service in that position.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated $75,000,000 
for each of the first 5 fiscal years beginning after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
    (b) Availability.--Amounts authorized pursuant to subsection (a) 
shall be available for the United States contribution to the mission of 
the United States Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian 
Authority.
    (c) Restriction.--
            (1) In general.--None of the funds authorized under 
        subsection (a) may be used to provide lethal assistance of any 
        kind.
            (2) Exception.--The limitation on assistance under 
        paragraph (1) shall not apply to ammunition and other lethal 
        assistance needed for the purposes of training taking place 
        outside of Israel and the West Bank.
    (d) Application of Taylor Force Act.--Funds authorized pursuant to 
subsection (a) shall be made available consistent with section 1004(a) 
of the Taylor Force Act (22 U.S.C. 2378c-1).

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
                Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Senior uniformed personnel.--The term ``senior 
        uniformed personnel'' means the senior staff of the USSC, which 
        includes any personnel performing equivalent duties of those 
        with the following titles and responsibilities as of the date 
        of the enactment of this Act:
                    (A) Chief of Staff.
                    (B) Director of Plans.
                    (C) Director for Operations.
                    (D) Legal Advisor.
                    (E) Budget Director.
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