[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 22, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7449-S7450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               U.S. CITIZENS KILLED IN ACTS OF TERRORISM

  Mr. ASHCROFT. The defense of American citizens is the highest duty of 
our government. That duty is fulfilled not only by protecting Americans 
at home, but U.S. citizens when they are abroad. This nation is a city 
on a hill, and our stand against oppression often has made us a target 
for those dark forces of violence and tyranny in the world. Terrorism 
is and will continue to be a principal weapon of those who would seek 
to threaten the United States and all for which our country stands.
  The Middle East is the region of the world with the greatest amount 
of terrorist activity. Five of the seven state sponsors of terrorism 
are located in or border on the region the State Department defines as 
the Near East. Our close ally Israel is often the target of terrorist 
groups operating in the Middle East, and the deaths of Americans due to 
terrorist attacks in Israel has been of particular concern to me.
  My amendment to the State Department Authorization bill simply 
requires the State Department to compile a report on U.S. citizens who 
have been killed in terrorist attacks in Israel or in territory 
controlled by the Palestinian Authority. The report will include a list 
of terrorist attacks in which U.S. citizens were killed and information 
on the groups of individuals responsible for the attack. The 
whereabouts of suspects implicated in the attacks, whether each suspect 
has been incarcerated or incarcerated and released, the status of each 
case pending against each suspect, whether the State Department has 
offered any reward for these terrorist suspects, and an overview of 
U.S. efforts to investigate and apprehend these suspects are particular 
points of concern my amendment addresses.
  Since the signing of Oslo in 1993, at least 12 American citizens have 
been killed in terrorist attacks in Israel or territory controlled by 
the Palestinian Authority: Nachson Wachsman, Joan Davenny, Leah Stern, 
Yael Botwin, Yaron Unger, Sara Duker, Matthew Eisenfeld, Ira Weinstein, 
Alisa Flatow, David Boim, Daniel Frei, and Yitzchak Weinstock.
  Responsibility for almost all of these murders has been claimed by 
Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, two terrorist groups supported by 
Iran and Syria and dedicated to the destruction of Israel.
  Terrorism's toll on Israel has been high as well. Since the beginning 
of the Oslo process in 1993, Israel has lost more than 280 of its 
citizens to terrorist violence in over 1,000 terrorist attacks (a 
portion of the Israeli population comparable to 15,000 Americans).
  Jean-Claude Niddam of the Israeli Ministry of Justice testified 
before the Senate Appropriations Foreign Operations Subcommittee on 
March 25, 1999, and gave an overview of the difficulties related to 
prosecuting suspects implicated in the murder of U.S. citizens.

  First, Mr. Niddam notes that terrorists suspected of killing 
Americans have found shelter in the Palestinian Authority. For the last 
4 years, Israel has submitted almost 40 official requests to the 
Palestinian Authority to transfer suspects implicated in terrorism 
against Israelis and Americans, but has yet to receive a reply. Out of 
38 requests to arrest and transfer terrorist suspects, only 12 suspects 
are currently under arrest and 7 are serving or served until recently 
in the Palestinian police force.
  Mr. Niddam's testimony focused on eight terrorist suspects involved 
in terrorist attacks against Americans. Three of these suspects have 
been detained by the Palestinian Authority. One of those imprisoned, 
Imjad Hinawi, confessed in a Palestinian court to the murder of David 
Boim. The confession was witnessed by a U.S. embassy official present 
at the trial. If there is a good reason why the Administration has not 
indicted Mr. Hinawi, it is the time for a clear explanation.

[[Page S7450]]

  Another suspect, Ibrahim Ghanimat, linked to the shooting deaths of 
Yaron Unger and his wife Efrat, spends his nights in prison but is free 
to come and go during the day. Adnan al-Ghul, Yusuf Samiri, and 
Mohammad Dief, three other suspects involved in the killings of 
Americans, are all at large. Nafez Sabi'h was implicated in a bombing 
that killed three Americans, but was believed to be serving in the 
Palestinian police force until several months ago.
  In recent years, other suspects implicated in the murder of American 
citizens have served in the Palestinian police force. In July 1998, the 
Israeli Government released a report stating that four terrorist 
suspects involved in the February 1996 Jerusalem bus bombing, in which 
three American citizens were killed, were serving in Palestinian 
security forces.
  A climate conducive to terrorism is the most serious threat to a 
lasting peace settlement in the Middle East. When Abul Abbas, the 
hijacker of the Achille Lauro, lives freely in Gaza and is a close 
associate of Yasser Arafat; when the Palestinian Authority's official 
media arm, the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, airs programming 
which teaches Palestinian children to hate Israelis; when terrorist 
suspects are given positions in the Palestinian security forces--
genuine peace is undermined and U.S. interests endangered in the Middle 
East.
  It is time for the United States to get serious about defending its 
own. President Clinton promised that no quarter would be given to 
terrorists who killed 12 Americans in the Africa embassy bombings in 
August 1998. But I fear this administration has not been pursuing 
aggressively terrorist suspects implicated in the murder of a similar 
number of Americans in Israel.
  Recent testimony by top administration officials does not indicate 
that our resolve to prosecute these cases is strengthening. Martin 
Indyk, Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East, was called to 
testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee last March on 
terrorism against U.S. citizens, but his written testimony did not even 
discuss these cases or what the State Department is doing to resolve 
them.
  George Washington once said that if we desire to avoid insult, we 
must be able to repel it. A credible defense deters aggression and war, 
and a similar principle is at work in meeting the threat of terrorism 
today. If terrorists know they will suffer for attacking Americans, 
they will be less likely to engage in such violence. President Reagan's 
response to Libyan terrorism quieted that government for over a decade.
  While we cannot prevent violence against every American abroad, we 
can ensure that terrorists who attack U.S. citizens are pursued 
relentlessly. I call on the administration to wage a more aggressive 
campaign against terrorists who have killed Americans, and this report 
will give Congress the ability to review the administration's efforts 
more effectively. I thank Senator Helms and Senator Biden for their 
assistance with this amendment.

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