[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 32 (Thursday, March 13, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E469]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       ISRAEL SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN MIDDLE EAST PEACE CONFERENCE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 13, 1997

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of 
my colleagues a situation that threatens to upset the Middle East peace 
process. Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat has reportedly invited leaders 
from throughout the world to participate in a weekend conference, 
supposedly to discuss ways to move the peace process forward.
  While Mr. Arafat has invited diplomats from the United States, Japan, 
Egypt, Jordan, and Europe to participate in this conference, 
conspicuously absent is an invitation to the country of Israel.
  How can a meeting supposedly designed to discuss ways to facilitate 
peace in the Middle East not include Israel? Obviously, it cannot. Any 
serious attempt to move the peace process forward should--and must--
include Israel.
  It does not take a scholar of Middle Eastern history or politics to 
know that Israel is integral to the region's future, as well as the 
success of the peace process itself. Excluding Israel from this 
proposed conference can only be seen as an attempt to fracture the 
world community's support for Israel and marginalize Israel's role in 
the peace process.
  The United States must not let itself be manipulated in this way. I 
applaud President Clinton's efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, 
but we are at a very delicate point in the process, and we must be 
extremely careful about how we proceed. A primary tenet of the Oslo 
Accords is that peace negotiations should take place between Israel and 
Palestinian authorities. Allowing Mr. Arafat to make an end-run around 
Israel by excluding it from this meeting violates the principles of the 
Oslo Accords and poses a serious threat to the peace process.
  Mr. Speaker, Yasir Arafat's call for a Middle Eastern peace 
conference is empty without the direct and meaningful participation of 
Israel. If the United States allows this conference to go forward in 
its current form, we will be doing irreparable harm to the peace 
process. Therefore, I urge you and my other colleagues to join me in 
calling on Yasir Arafat to include Israel in this weekend's meeting or 
to withdraw United States participation in this one-sided and 
counterproductive conference.

                          ____________________