[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 78 (Thursday, May 27, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6381-S6382]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 36--CONDEMNING PALESTINIAN EFFORTS TO 
REVIVE THE ORIGINAL PALESTINE PARTITION PLAN OF NOVEMBER 29, 1947, AND 
CONDEMNING THE UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS FOR ITS APRIL 
 27, 1999, RESOLUTION ENDORSING PALESTINIAN SELF-DETERMINATION ON THE 
             BASIS OF THE ORIGINAL PALESTINE PARTITION PLAN

  Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. Moynihan, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Mack, and 
Mr. Lieberman) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 36

       Whereas United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, 
     which called for the partition of the British-ruled Palestine 
     Mandate into a Jewish state and an Arab state, was declared 
     null and void on November 29, 1947, by the Arab states and 
     the Palestinians, who included the rejection of Resolution 
     181 as a formal justification for the May, 1948, invasion of 
     the newly declared State of Israel by the armies of five Arab 
     states;

[[Page S6382]]

       Whereas the armistice agreements between Israel and Egypt, 
     Lebanon, Syria, and Transjordan in 1949 made no mention of 
     United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, and the 
     United Nations Security Council made no reference to United 
     Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 in its Resolution 73 
     of August 11, 1949, which endorsed the armistice;
       Whereas in 1967 and 1973 the United Nations adopted 
     Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, respectively, which 
     call for the withdrawal of Israel from territory occupied in 
     1967 and 1973 in exchange for the creation of secure and 
     recognized boundaries for Israel and for political 
     recognition of Israel's sovereignty;
       Whereas Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 have 
     served as the framework for all negotiations between Israel, 
     Palestinian representatives, and Arab states for 30 years, 
     including the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference and the ongoing 
     Oslo peace process, and serve as the agreed basis for 
     impending Final Status Negotiations;
       Whereas senior Palestinian officials have recently 
     resurrected United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 
     through official statements and a March 25, 1999, letter from 
     the Palestine Liberation Organization Permanent Observer to 
     the United Nations Secretary-General contending that the 
     State of Israel must withdraw to the borders outlined in 
     United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, and accept 
     Jerusalem as a ``corpus separatum'' to be placed under United 
     Nations control as outlined in United Nations General 
     Assembly Resolution 181; and
       Whereas in its April 27, 1999, resolution, the United 
     Nations Commission on Human Rights asserted that Israeli-
     Palestinian peace negotiations be based on United Nations 
     General Assembly Resolution 181: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That the Congress--
       (1) condemns Palestinian efforts to circumvent United 
     Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, as well as 
     violate the Oslo peace process, by attempting to revive 
     United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, thereby 
     placing the entire Israeli-Palestinian peace process at risk;
       (2) condemns the United Nations Commission on Human Rights 
     for voting to formally endorse United Nations General 
     Assembly Resolution 181 as the basis for the future of 
     Palestinian self-determination;
       (3) reiterates that any just and final peace agreement 
     regarding the final status of the territory controlled by the 
     Palestinians can only be determined through direct 
     negotiations and agreement between the State of Israel and 
     the Palestinian Liberation Organization;
       (4) reiterates its continued unequivocal support for the 
     security and well-being of the State of Israel, and of the 
     Oslo peace process based on United Nations Security Council 
     Resolutions 242 and 338; and
       (5) calls for the President of the United States to declare 
     that--
       (A) it is the policy of the United States that United 
     Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 of 1947 is null and 
     void;
       (B) all negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians 
     must be based on United Nations Security Council Resolutions 
     242 and 338; and
       (C) the United States regards any attempt by the 
     Palestinians, the United Nations, or any entity to resurrect 
     United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 as a basis for 
     negotiations, or for any international decision, as an 
     attempt to sabotage the prospects for a successful peace 
     agreement in the Middle East.

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