[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 115 (Thursday, September 4, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8782-S8785]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TERRORISM IN ISRAEL

  Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, once again, we have seen the ugly, 
undeniably brutal, horrific actions of terrorism. We have seen the 
destructive impact of it in Jerusalem so vividly put forth over the TV 
screens, but it goes well beyond. We are told that 6 people died, over 
150 have been injured, and obviously our sympathy goes out to them and 
to their families and to the people of that region who are held captive 
by these kinds of terrorist attacks. This is the work of Hamas, the 
Hamas who are given sanctuary, who operate out of the territories under 
the direct control of Yasser Arafat.
  Now, make no mistake about it: The responsibility for this terrorist 
act and the previous bombings lies with Mr. Arafat. He, Mr. President, 
has the power to deter these murderers but does nothing. Indeed, he 
gives them sanctuary. He gives them sustenance. He gives them comfort.
  Let me illustrate by way of this picture. It is said that a picture 
is worth a thousand words, and in this case I think even more so. The 
New York Times, Thursday, August 21, and here we see Mr. Arafat greeted 
by a leader of the Hamas during a meeting in Gaza: ``Defying Israel, 
Arafat embraces Islamic militants.''
  You cannot have it both ways. You cannot say, on the one hand, that 
we are the instrumentality of peace, that we want peace, we are working 
for peace, and on the other hand be embracing the leaders of the 
terrorist organizations that are sworn to destroy Israel, the Jewish 
people and any prospects for peace.
  That is indefensible. And so while there are those who claim that 
this is an internal security problem for Israel, I believe it is quite 
clear, given the responsibilities and given the power and given the 
economic wherewithal that we have provided, the United States, to 
Yasser Arafat, whose police force has failed, whose security services 
have, if anything, given sanctuary and protection to Hamas, it is about 
time we held him accountable for these acts. Instead of providing the 
security and loaning himself to the peace process, he embraces these 
murderers as we see so clearly. He coddles them, he provides them with 
sanctuary.
  Mr. President, terrorism will not end if this is permitted.
  I believe, and I have said before--and I see my colleague in the 
Chamber--that it may come time--and the Senator from Connecticut [Mr. 
Lieberman] has raised this issue--for this country to look very closely 
at the moneys, the hundreds of millions of dollars annually that we 
send to Mr. Arafat under the umbrella, the cloak, of peace.
  When those dollars are not being used to provide the kind of security 
to bring about a peace process but are aiding and abetting, and, 
indeed, we have him embracing terrorist leaders, I think we have to at 
the very least look at whether this should continue. I believe that we 
have an obligation to speak up and say, we hold you, Mr. Arafat, 
responsible, and it is time to condemn him publicly for the carnage and 
the destruction of human life that has taken place today and in the 
past.
  Mr. President, I see my friends and colleagues, the Senators from 
Connecticut and New Jersey, in the Chamber, and I know that they feel 
strongly about this issue.
  I yield my remaining time to the Senator from Connecticut and the 
Senator from New Jersey.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. I thank my friend and colleague from New York for 
yielding and for his statement.
  Mr. President, as a result of a terrorist act, blood has been spilled 
in the streets of Israel as its citizens go about the most normal day-
to-day tasks, walking, shopping. Lives again have been lost to the 
terrorist hand. It is a very sad and dispiriting moment, not just, of 
course, for those who have suffered in this terrorist attack and for 
the families and friends who pray now that the lives of the wounded 
will be saved. It is also a sad and dispiriting day for all of us who 
hope for the continuation of the peace process in the Middle 
East, begun in Oslo, ratified at a historic, dramatic, hopeful signing 
on the lawn of the White House on September 13, 1993 by the late Prime 
Minister Rabin and Chairman Arafat. The agreement, the understanding, 
the exchange made in the declaration of principles in the Oslo accord 
was complicated in one sense, but simple in another. It was an exchange 
in which the Israeli Government would yield land in recognition of a 
Palestinian self-governing authority in exchange for the Palestinians--
and particularly their eventually elected leadership, Chairman Arafat 
and others--giving security to the people of Israel; freedom from fear 
of the kind of terrorist acts that have been committed again today in 
Israel.

  Mr. President, I know the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin 
Netanyahu, is controversial in many areas of this country, and there 
are different acts that he has carried out as a leader that some 
challenge and question. But it seems to me, if you look at the 
agreement made in the Oslo accords and you look at what was required of 
Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu, since he has been Prime Minister, has 
kept those promises made by Prime Minister Rabin. The same cannot be 
said of Chairman Arafat.
  It is not just, although it is significant, the failure, as promised 
in the Oslo accord, to remove from the Palestinian Charter these 
clauses which threaten the destruction of the State of Israel. It is 
not just, though of course it is tragic and painful, the terrorist acts 
that continue. But it is the tone, it is the context of what is 
happening. The Israeli intelligence gathers evidence, presents it to 
Mr. Arafat to show him, a month or so ago, that the person he has 
appointed as the chief of the Palestinian Authority police has been 
involved in planning terrorist acts. How would we feel if we had 
evidence from intelligence showing that the minister of defense of 
Russia, with whom we were negotiating an arms control agreement, had 
been involved in planning terrorist acts against the United States? The 
dreadful moment, after the bombing in Israel, in Jerusalem, a few 
months ago, Chairman Arafat, instead of taking action to reassure the 
fear of average Israelis about their security, holds a conference with 
Hamas and other terrorist groups and embraces and kisses one of the 
leaders of that group. Again, the chief of police of the Palestinian 
Authority at one point declares with some pride that more than 100 
members of Hamas are members of the Palestinian Authority police.
  The effect of these actions leading, again, to this tragic terrorist 
act today, is not just to affect the political leadership of Israel. 
Israel is a democracy. That is why Mr. Netanyahu is Prime Minister. The 
effect of these acts that I have described is to undercut severely the 
trust, the confidence, the hope of the people of Israel for peace. 
Because they don't trust the Palestinian Authority and Mr. Arafat, 
based on these various acts I have described and Senator D'Amato has 
described, to carry out the promises in the Oslo accords to provide 
security and peace.
  The late Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel, was a great leader, 
a great soldier of the peace, so-called peace of the brave. But I would 
say today, if Prime Minister Rabin was alive and was still Prime 
Minister today, he could not accept the continuation of the peace 
process under the status quo, because the Palestinians have not kept 
their part of the bargain. So, I fully support the statements made by 
the Senator from New York. I am grateful the Secretary of State is 
underway to the Middle East. It will take a courageous and bold action. 
But the main point here is that Chairman Arafat has to understand---
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Snowe). The time for morning business is 
expired.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. I ask unanimous consent I be given 2 additional 
minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. D'AMATO. Madam President, might I ask that we have an 
additional--up to 15 minutes in morning business to be able to speak on 
this issue, because I know there are colleagues, my colleague from New 
Jersey and colleague from California, who would like to speak to this.

[[Page S8783]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered.
  Mr. D'AMATO. I thank the Chair.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Madam President, what I am saying here is that this 
process--for the first time since September 1993 I fear that the peace 
process in the Middle East is unraveling. And that would be a terrible 
result for the people on both sides in the Middle East. The only way it 
can be brought back on track is for Chairman Arafat to take some 
unequivocal and strong actions to make clear that he is an enemy of 
terrorism. That will probably include arresting suspected terrorists. 
That will include a direct break of this embrace with Hamas. It will 
include a dedication to destroying the terrorist infrastructure that is 
part of Hamas. If that does not happen, the process will not go 
forward. Because the people of Israel--leave aside the Government--the 
people of Israel will not have the confidence to take it forward.
  Here our options are limited. The Secretary of State and her 
designees are there to try to bring some sense to the parties on both 
sides. But, insofar as we have options, it suffices to say that in the 
climate and the reality that has occurred, as Senator D'Amato has 
indicated, it seems to me there is very little chance that this 
Congress would appropriate any funds for the Palestinian Authority. It 
will make it difficult to renew the Middle East Peace Facilitation Act, 
which allowed the PLO, the Palestinian Authority, to have an office 
here in Washington which was closed in August because we didn't renew 
it.
  These are serious consequences which go to the heart of the process 
and to the hopes of people, on the Palestinian and Israeli sides, for a 
better future than the war-torn past. I think we are all here appealing 
to Chairman Arafat, who remains the elected chairman, to seize this 
moment, show his leadership, or forever be seen in the eyes of history 
as the man who destroyed the hopes for peace in the Middle East.
  I thank the Chair and yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Madam President, if I might, I don't know, is the 
time reserved just generally?
  Mr. D'AMATO. No. I have asked that we be permitted to speak on this 
issue for up to 15 minutes. My colleagues have yet to speak. So use 
whatever time is necessary.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I thank the Senator from New York. I commend him for 
his ever-present concern about the well-being of our friends around the 
world, Israel in this case, and his staunch defense of freedom and 
democracy against terrorism. I thank him for his initiative today.
  It is heartbreaking for all of us, when we see innocent people 
carried away in stretchers, and the mayhem and the destruction that 
terrorists visited upon Jerusalem this day. It is not a unique 
happening. It has gone on for too long. The attempt to suggest that 
this is a way to obtain peace, or to coerce friends who want democratic 
societies throughout the Middle East, kind of modeled on what Israel 
has done--it is a democratic society, as my friend and colleague from 
Connecticut said. They elected a Prime Minister. It is not for us to 
agree or disagree. It is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is, it is a 
democratic society. And what we try to do is encourage the Palestinian 
Authority to take democratic leadership and represent law and order and 
defend against terrorism. But we have been grossly disappointed of 
late.
  I was in Israel 2 years ago in April when a bus was exploded by a 
terrorist. On that bus was a young woman from New Jersey whose family I 
now know very well. She died in a few days; 21 years old, an innocent 
victim. She wasn't there trying to hurt anybody. She was there because 
she was interested in studying Hebrew and the history of the Jewish 
people. Sometime later another young woman, also from New Jersey, was 
killed in a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv--just a random explosion, 
someone willing to take his life, convinced that he would be rewarded 
for killing himself and killing others.
  The one thing we have to insist on in this country is we should not 
talk to anybody who, in addition to a formal relationship with us, 
supports terrorism. Syria by way of example. We have an ambassador 
there. They have representation there. But they are on a list of 
countries that support terrorism. And we ought to say listen, if that 
is the way you are going to conduct your life, in terms of the region 
that you exist in, that you want to encourage terrorism on the one hand 
and be a friend of this great democracy on the other, it's no go. We 
ought to say that to countries all around the area. If you in any way--
even those that we have established some friendships with--if you in 
any way encourage or inflame the fire of violence and terrorism, our 
relationship is going to change. We cannot sit by and simply pour our 
hearts out and say, ``Isn't it sad? Somebody lost a son, somebody lost 
a daughter, mother, father, sister.'' It has to be more overt than 
that.
  We have seen what happens with terrorism. We have seen it in our own 
country. It shocked everybody, in Oklahoma, the Port Authority building 
in New York, the Trade Center. It is frightening. It is a disgusting, 
revolting act. Think of it, that someone feels justified, for political 
or personal reasons, to take others' lives in the name of a cause. We 
ought not let it be misunderstood, that we will never, never, never 
accept a handshake on one hand from someone who is going to support 
terrorism with the other hand.
  Mr. D'AMATO. I wonder if my colleague might yield for an observation?
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Sure.
  Mr. D'AMATO. Do you think that we should consider very seriously 
going forward with a cutoff of funding to Yasser Arafat and the 
Palestinians, unless we see some--I am not saying tomorrow or the next 
day--but unless we see some concerted action? I think we have to begin 
to let him know. I am wondering what my colleague thinks about that--my 
colleagues think about that? Because, it seems to me, we say one thing 
and we do the other. We are permitting, I think, ourselves to look 
rather foolish in the continued funding, or permitting funding to 
continue to flow.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. The question my colleague from New York State raises 
is a very complex one. Because we want to continue a peace process. I 
spent some time in Ireland. I visited in the north. We made investments 
in that society, in the northern section, so that people could elevate 
their standard of living and reduce some of the anger and the rage. And 
we continued. I was pleased to see, in the last couple of days, 
discussions taking place that include the Sinn Fein, with some Members 
of the Senate and so forth, to try to say, ``Stop the killing, stop the 
killing.''
  I met with people in New Jersey, and we disagreed on the tactic that 
was being used, the violence in the North, to try to bring about the 
kind of equality that all of us like to see for our families and our 
friends. Thusly, I am reluctant to say just offhand that we ought to 
simply cut off the relationship.
  I have faith that the Palestinian people also want peace. I don't 
think that they, any more than anyone else, likes the prospect of a son 
or a daughter dying in a conflict. There are those madmen--we have them 
in our society; we saw it in Oklahoma--people who are part of our 
culture who do something that is so outrageous. We see it in violence 
around the country all too frequently. We just saw it in New Hampshire.
  I will say this, though, that I think the Senator confirms what I was 
talking about, and that is, we have to, as they say, tighten the 
screws. We cannot have a Hamas operating under one disguise in one 
place doing a good deed here and there--and I don't care how many good 
deeds they do--if the alternative is to have another branch of that 
organization that kills people, those who might disagree with them, 
while they tend to the needs of others who are indigent medically, 
troubled, et cetera.
  So we have to make sure that if you want to be a friend of the United 
States, if you want us to work with you in any continued way of support 
for democracy, for economic betterment, that you have to leave out any 
assistance or any encouragement for terrorism, and that means reacting 
to terrorist acts by saying, ``We condemn it and we condemn those who 
did it,'' and not hedge what they are saying, not permit them to say, 
``Well, we don't like terrorism, but, in this case, maybe''--baloney.

[[Page S8784]]

  What we say is, if anybody participates in any support of terrorism, 
they can't be friends of ours and they can't derive any benefit from 
it.
  I will relinquish the floor with a word of encouragement for 
Secretary Albright to continue her effort, for all the peacemakers to 
continue their efforts, to try to get by this but at the same time to 
make certain that those who commit terrorist deeds know that they 
cannot sit at the table at the same time that the peacemakers do. I 
yield the floor.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, if I may, I would like to continue 
along the lines of some of my colleagues' comments with some of my own, 
informal as they may be, about what happened this morning. I find 
myself very much thinking along the lines of the Senators from New 
York, Connecticut and New Jersey.
  I watched the CNN coverage from Jerusalem this morning, and my heart 
very much went into my throat. I wondered how much can the people of 
this small nation endure. I looked at the faces on the streets, and I 
saw a kind of brokenness, a spirit diminished, a hurt that was turning 
rapidly to anger.
  I have been one on the Foreign Relations Committee who has been a 
supporter of the Middle East Peace Facilitation Act. That act expired 
prior to our recess. It was not renewed. My understanding is that as a 
result the Palestinian office in this area has closed, and I believe it 
should remain closed, and that the aid specified through the Middle 
East Peace Facilitation Act, which we call MEPFA, has ceased. I believe 
that aid should cease. I believe that the Middle East Peace 
Facilitation Act at this point in time should not be renewed and, as a 
member of the Foreign Relations Committee, it is going to take a great 
deal to convince me to go in any other direction.
  The last terrorist attack before this was July 30. Since then, there 
has been an aborted attack. Today, we saw three suicide bombers go into 
a busy pedestrian mall and blow themselves up in a kind of fanaticism 
that certainly is not understood in Western countries or really any 
peace-loving country. It is not the act of peace-loving people to blow 
themselves up and blow up anyone that happens to be around them.
  I submit that the only reason these bombs are not blowing up inside 
rooms, businesses, and convention halls--and causing even more 
casualties--is that in Israeli, everyone is searched when they enter 
public buildings. This is a terrible way for people to have to live. At 
some point it almost begins to approach the atrocity of a concentration 
camp if people must live this way.
  My own view is that it takes two parties to pursue peace, and both 
parties must want peace. I had thought up to this point that Yasser 
Arafat wants peace. I must tell this body honestly, I no longer believe 
that to be the case. I watched his kiss with a Hamas leader, and I know 
that when public leaders engage in these kinds of symbolic gestures, it 
sets forth signals, signals to every Hamas terrorist everywhere, that 
their actions are, to some extent, condoned by the chairman of the 
Palestinian Authority, the head of that authority. That is a terrible 
signal to send if you are going to be seriously engaged in a peace 
process.
  So I have come to believe that that authority at this stage does not 
want peace. I have come to believe it when I read that members of the 
police department were actually engaged in complicity with terrorists 
to allow a terrorist attack to take place.
  I believe the following: First, that if there is ever a time for the 
Arab world to come forward and take a united and strong position 
against Hamas and Hezbollah and any other organization that would carry 
out these acts, it is now. If there ever was a time for the Arab world 
to begin to press for the arrest, for the destruction of these 
terrorist organizations, it is now. Outside of concerted action by the 
Arab world, I don't see how a peace process can go ahead with any 
progress whatsoever.
  Second, I believe we should not renew the Middle East Peace 
Facilitation Act. I believe that all funding should cease at this 
point. And I must finally say that I personally have very mixed 
feelings about Secretary Albright's trip to the Middle East. Yes, I 
believe we should resist terrorism. I am not sure that going to the 
Middle East at this point in time sends the signal that we do, indeed, 
resist terrorism. It seems to me that if both parties, Israel and the 
Palestinians, want to discuss peace and the United States is going to 
carry out our role as an honest broker, this peace can be brokered 
elsewhere than on Israeli soil at this point in time.
  When three people move forward to kill themselves and kill others, I 
only can believe that other attacks are going to follow. If I am any 
judge at all of the faces, the Israeli faces I saw on television this 
morning, I would have to say that peace is having a price that free 
people have a great deal of difficulty in paying, because it means your 
child can't go to school, you can't shop, you can't walk down a street. 
You become a hostage, in another sense.
  So I make these comments with very deep concern as one who has tried 
to work on resolutions passed by this body so that they weren't 
inflammatory to the peace process, so that Jerusalem, as an issue, 
could be handled in a way that was not inflammatory, so that the Middle 
East Peace Facilitation Act could go ahead. But as one Member of this 
Senate, I am now at the point where I believe that without a major 
commitment from the Arab world, from Mr. Arafat and from his 
government, peace is at the weakest point that I have ever seen since 
the peace process has begun.
  I thank the Chair. I yield the floor. I thank the Senator from New 
York for his comments.
  Mr. D'AMATO addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York.
  Mr. D'AMATO. The Chair has been gracious in extending morning 
business time, but I would like to make one observation, if I might, 
and ask that the time be continued.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. D'AMATO. Madam President, I think that this picture and the 
caption describes it. Here is Yasser Arafat embracing a leader of 
terrorism, a killer, the leader of Hamas. The caption reads: ``Defying 
Israel, Arafat embraces Islamic militants.'' It is better titled: 
``Defying peace''--defying peace. It is better titled ``Embracing 
terrorists,'' because that is exactly what he is doing.
  My colleague from California, I think, described it quite correctly. 
It is not good enough to speak about peace and yet to give sanctuary, 
safe haven and tangible, visible support to those who bring about these 
horrific acts. That is what Mr. Arafat has done. Generally, he has done 
it under the cloak of speaking in a language and in places and at times 
where the world does not hear it, but that selected groups hear his 
words. Here he has done it in the way that the camera has captured him 
and his words in giving support and comfort to those who bring terror 
to the streets and to the homes of innocent civilians.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, once again innocent Israeli civilians have 
been murdered by the enemies of the peace process. I rise today to 
strongly condemn this cowardly act of violence and reaffirm my support 
for the people of Israel and for the people who want peace throughout 
the Middle East.
  There is no doubt that today's suicide bombings were carefully timed 
to inflict the greatest number of civilian causalities. Three 
explosions in quick succession rocked the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall 
during the busiest time of day. These bombs killed at least 6 and 
injured nearly 200 people.
  As expected, the terrorist group Hamas has claimed responsibility for 
this deplorable act. They are responsible for the blood and carnage in 
the streets of Jerusalem, and they must answer to the grieving parents 
and families of the victims.
  Last month, I stood before this body to urge Yasser Arafat and the 
Palestinian Authority to keep their promise and crack down on 
terrorism. As evidenced by his complete inaction since the July 30 
bombing, Mr. Arafat has not done anything to join the fight against 
terrorism. If the peace process is to move forward, he must find the 
courage to confront those who would victimize innocents to undermine 
peace in the Middle East.
  Secretary Madeleine Albright is scheduled to visit the Middle East 
next

[[Page S8785]]

week, and there are many who believe these bombings were intended to 
disrupt her visit. Mr. President, this deliberate act of violence 
against Israel will not deter us in any way from moving forward with 
the peace process--indeed, it will only strengthen our resolve. It is 
critical that America continue to play a major role in the peace 
process. We will not allow terrorists to set the agenda for the peace 
process. We will not allow cowards to strangle the prospects for peace 
in the Middle East.
  In these difficult times, the need for strong American leadership 
becomes ever clearer. That is why I am very pleased that Secretary 
Albright has decided to proceed with her planned visit to the Middle 
East. It is my profound hope that her efforts can jump start the ailing 
peace process.
  I believe Mr. Arafat and the Palestinian Authority must both agree to 
fully engage in the peace process and take dramatic steps to halt these 
terrorist attacks if they wish to continue to receive financial 
assistance from the United States. Unless such action is taken in the 
immediate future, I will steadfastly support cutting any and all aid to 
the Palestinian Authority. It is truly unconscionable that American 
money, given in good faith, be used to aid those who would conspire 
with terrorists.
  Israel's greatest responsibility is to protect her citizens. Mr. 
Arafat must understand that a true peace can be achieved only when 
Israeli citizens are secure in their homes, in their places of worship, 
and on their streets. They deserve no less.
  I wish to express my sincere condolences to the Israeli people on 
this senseless tragedy.

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