[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 145 (Friday, October 7, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 7, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS

  Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the Middle 
East peace process. I must confess that on the question of peace in the 
Middle East, I have been a skeptic. Yet now, over a year after the 
signing of the Declaration of Principles between Israel and the 
Palestinian Liberation Organization, I am pleased to say that some--
though not all--of my skepticism has dissipated.
  In the last few days alone, the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation 
council have renounced the secondary and tertiary boycott of Israel. 
Should they have done so long ago? Without a doubt. Should they now 
renounce the direct boycott of Israel? Absolutely. But let us not damn 
them with faint praise: even these small moves have taken the courage 
to move away from long standing policies.
  In addition, the Israelis and the Jordanians are fast approaching a 
peace treaty. There are further agreements on border crossings and 
tourism. King Hussein and Prime Minister Rabin have met again. Even 
Tunisia, former headquarters of the PLO, has agreed to exchange 
interest sections with the Israelis. Again, it is not a whole loaf, or 
even half, but it is a good beginning.
  To see these kinds of developments, to watch lifelong enemies of 
Israel begin to face the reality of her existence, is quite uplifting. 
There is, however, another side to the peace process story.
  For those of us who have watched the PLO over the years, watched 
Yasser Arafat go from one terrorist act to another, it was difficult to 
imagine him being able to make the transition from murdering to 
governing. We could not imagine it, and they have not yet done it. 
Arafat has conferred an interesting title on himself--``the President 
and the Symbol''. Yet he shows few of the traits one expects of a 
modern political leader. In fact, Arafat is perilously close to being 
little more than a dictator.
  We are told repeatedly that Palestinians will gauge the peace process 
by the change they feel on the ground. Give me money, Arafat says, or 
my people will turn on the peace process. Please note, Mr. Arafat, that 
nations have fallen all over each other to give you money, with the 
sole proviso that you put standard principles of economics and 
accounting ahead of posturing and political rhetoric. You have refused 
to do that.
  Political posturing on the issue of Jerusalem caused the breakdown of 
the recent donors' meeting in Paris. Failure to guarantee open 
accounting has held up implementation of Israeli-Palestinian 
agreements. The few ministers Arafat has named have expressed 
frustration with his governing style, his autocracy and his conduct of 
Palestinian international relations. Arafat has shut down newspapers 
that disagree with him and shown a disturbing preference for leadership 
through secret police, armed militia, and the like.
  I could go on with a litany of complaints about Arafat and the 
Palestinian Authority--the failure to change the Palestinian Covenant, 
Arafat's failure to condemn acts of terror, etc. The bottom line seems 
to be that governing is not glamorous and that running the Palestinian 
Authority is not the same as running the PLO.
  Israel has taken great risks to move along the peace process. More 
Israelis have died in the year since the Declaration of Principles than 
died in the previous year of the Intifada. In spite of that sorry 
situation, the Israeli Government has stood firm in its pursuit of 
regional peace and stability. That steadfastness has begun to produce 
concrete results.
  The United States must stand firm with Israel. I will continue to 
urge the Clinton administration--and its successors--to honor our 
commitments to Israel's security. I also will continue to urge that 
decisions must be made by all the parties involved. We must let the 
parties involved work out their peace.
  We also must stand firm on another issue: Jerusalem must remain the 
undivided capital of Israel. Only once has Jerusalem been divided, from 
1948 to 1967. Since Jerusalem was reunited by Israel in 1967, its holy 
sites have been open to all religious pilgrims. We must never allow 
Jerusalem to be divided again.
  For that reason, last March I urged the administration to veto a U.N. 
resolution that referred to Jerusalem as occupied territory. Our 
Government should not undermine the status of Jerusalem as Israel's 
undivided and eternal capital.
  I have noticed that the Government of Syria, which seems to be facing 
up to the need for accommodation with Israel, apparently expects a 
payoff from the United States in return for peace. President Assad, you 
better not start spending yet.
  Syria wants the Golan Heights, and it wants aid and arms from the 
West. Syria will not get the Golan unless Israel chooses to cede that 
strategic territory. It most certainly will not get a penny from 
American taxpayers unless it gives up terror and drug trafficking and 
conforms to accepted standards of behavior in the civilized world. In 
addition, requests for American troops to serve as a buffer force 
between Syrian and Israeli forces in the Golan area must be examined 
carefully by Congress and the American people. The Golan Heights are 
not the Sinai desert. I hope no commitment is made by our State 
Department to introduce troops into that area unless such an action has 
had the benefit of ample public analysis and scrutiny.
  We all want peace in the Middle East, but peace must be made by the 
nations of the Middle East. The Palestinians, Syrians, and Lebanese 
must realize--as have the Jordanians and Egyptians--that peace with 
Israel brings its own rewards; not necessarily massive external aid, 
not necessarily arms, but certainly a brighter, more secure future for 
their children.

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