[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 120 (Thursday, September 11, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9239-S9240]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CONDEMNATION OF BOMBING IN JERUSALEM

  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign 
Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of Senate 
Concurrent Resolution 50 and the Senate proceed to its immediate 
consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 50) condemning in the 
     strongest possible terms the bombing in Jerusalem on 
     September 4, 1997.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the concurrent resolution?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, Senator Hutchinson has two amendments at 
the desk which amend the resolution and the preamble.
  I ask unanimous consent that the amendment to the resolution be 
agreed to, the resolution, as amended, be agreed to, the amendment to 
the preamble be agreed to, and the preamble, as amended, be agreed to.
  I further ask unanimous consent that the motions to reconsider be 
laid upon the table and any statements relating to the resolution be 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 1133) was agreed to, as follows:
       On page 3, beginning on line 6, strike out ``should 
     provide'' and all that follows through ``it has fulfilled'' 
     and insert in lieu thereof ``will only provide monetary or 
     other assistance to the Palestinian Authority once it has 
     fulfilled''.
       On page 3, strike out lines 16 and 17.
       On page 3, line 18, strike out ``(E)'' and insert in lieu 
     thereof ``(D)''.
       On page 3, line 21, strike out ``(F)'' and insert in lieu 
     thereof ``(E)''.
       On page 4, line 1, strike out ``(G)'' and insert in lieu 
     thereof ``(F)''.
       On page 4, strike out lines 3 through 5.
       On page 4, line 6, strike out ``(I)'' and insert in lieu 
     thereof ``(G)''.
       On page 4, line 9, strike out ``(J)'' and insert in lieu 
     thereof ``(H)''.
       On page 4, line 15, strike out ``(K) taking affirmative 
     steps to reduce the size of the Palestinian police force,'' 
     and insert in lieu thereof ``(I) taking affirmative steps to 
     ensure that the size of the Palestinian police force is''.

  The amendment to the preamble was agreed to, as follows:

       In the first clause, strike out ``8 people'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``7 people''.
       In the sixth clause, strike out ``a list of 150'' and 
     insert in lieu thereof ``a long list of''.
       In the eighth clause, strike out ``over 260 Israelis'' and 
     insert in lieu thereof ``more than 100 Israelis''.

  The concurrent resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 50), as amended, and its 
preamble, as amended, read as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 50

       Whereas on September 4, 1997, 3 bombs exploded in Jerusalem 
     on Ben Yehuda Street, killing at least 7 people and injuring 
     more than 165 others;
       Whereas HAMAS, a terrorist organization, has a ``military 
     wing'' which has claimed responsibility for this cowardly 
     act;
       Whereas Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestinian 
     Authority, has made statements in which he said ``HAMAS, even 
     its military wing, is a patriotic movement.'';
       Whereas on August 20, 1997, Chairman Arafat publicly 
     embraced the leader of HAMAS, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi;

[[Page S9240]]

       Whereas Yasser Arafat has recently ordered the release of 
     several HAMAS terrorists being held in Palestinian Authority 
     jails, including Nabil Sharihi, who is suspected in a bombing 
     that killed Alisa Flatow, a American citizen;
       Whereas Israel has recently given Yasser Arafat a long list 
     of suspected terrorists who are presently residing in 
     Palestinian-controlled territory;
       Whereas Yasser Arafat has made public statements in which 
     he vowed not to ``bow down'' to Israeli requests that he 
     arrest suspected terrorists;
       Whereas since the beginning of the Oslo peace process, more 
     than 100 Israelis have been killed, and hundreds more have 
     been injured, far more than a similar period before the 
     peace process began; and
       Whereas in violation of the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian 
     Authority has withheld full security cooperation with the 
     State of Israel, which may have made this attack more likely: 
     Now, therefore be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representative 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) condemns in the strongest possible terms this latest 
     bombing and those responsible for encouraging or inciting 
     such cowardly acts;
       (2) expresses its deepest condolences to the families of 
     the victims of this latest bombing and expresses its 
     solidarity with the people of the State of Israel in this 
     tragic time;
       (3) reaffirms that the United States should fully cooperate 
     with the State of Israel in helping to stem the tide of 
     terrorism, which has threatened the Oslo peace process and 
     the stability of this vital region; and
       (4) affirms that the United States will only provide 
     monetary or other assistance to the Palestinian Authority 
     once it has fulfilled its obligations under the Oslo Accords, 
     including--
       (2) taking affirmative steps to arrest and prosecute 
     suspected terrorists;
       (B) resuming full security and intelligence cooperation 
     with the State of Israel;
       (C) taking affirmative steps to confiscate all unlicensed 
     weapons and explosives;
       (D) prohibiting participation in the Palestinian security 
     services of individuals suspected of committing terrorist 
     acts;
       (E) ceasing all anti-Israeli rhetoric, including statements 
     which refer to terrorist groups as ``patriotic'', statements 
     which praise terrorists or terrorist leaders, and statements 
     encouraging a ``battle'' or ``juhad'' against Israel;
       (F) cooperating with Israel in the transfer of suspected 
     terrorists to Israel to stand trial;
       (G) ceasing the use of maps depicting ``Palestine'' as 
     encompassing the entire State of Israel;
       (H) completing the process of amending the covenant of the 
     Palestinian Liberation Organization, including the recession 
     of those specific articles which call for armed struggle to 
     liberate ``Palestine'' or question their legitimacy of 
     Zionism or the State of Israel; and
       (I) taking affirmative steps to ensure that the size of the 
     Palestinian police force is in accordance with the limits set 
     forth in the Oslo and subsequent accords.

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