[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 127 (Thursday, October 12, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S10426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 372--A RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE 
    WITH RESPECT TO UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 1322

  Mr. LOTT (for Mr. Grams (for himself and Mr. Brownback) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 372

       Whereas in an Emergency Special Session, the United Nations 
     Security Council voted on October 7, 2000, to approve 
     Resolution 1322, which unfairly blames Israel for the 
     outbreak of violence and politicizes the Geneva Convention;
       Whereas Resolution 1322 singles out Israel for the use of 
     excessive force against Palestinians while ignoring identical 
     acts perpetrated by Palestinians against Israelis;
       Whereas Resolution 1322 incorrectly labels the September 
     28, 2000, visit of Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon to 
     Temple Mount, a holy place open to all members of all faiths, 
     as the ``provocation'' for violence;
       Whereas there is clear evidence this violence was a 
     premeditated and coordinated action by the Palestinian 
     Authority and Palestinian militias;
       Whereas Israeli army officials noted a sharp increase in 
     attacks against security forces and Israeli civilians in the 
     weeks before September 28, 2000, including the killing of one 
     soldier and the wounding of another in a Gaza Strip ambush on 
     September 27;
       Whereas the Palestinian Authority has used official 
     Palestinian television and the Voice of Palestine radio to 
     incite violence;
       Whereas there is evidence that Fatah leader Marwan 
     Barghouti, Chairman Arafat's top political lieutenant in the 
     West Bank, has been orchestrating the rioting of armed 
     uniformed police and civilians;
       Whereas the United States refused to veto Resolution 1322, 
     although United States Ambassador to the United Nations 
     Richard Holbrooke reportedly declared it ``unbalanced, 
     biased, and really a lousy piece of work''; and
       Whereas the United States has vetoed three anti-Israel 
     Security Council Resolutions since the 1993 Oslo Accords and 
     has still played a constructive role in the peace process as 
     an ``honest broker'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate hereby--
       (1) denounces the United States failure to vote against 
     United Nations Security Council Resolution 1322;
       (2) condemns the United Nations Security Council for its 
     discrimination against the State of Israel and its efforts to 
     manipulate the Fourth Geneva Conference for the sole purpose 
     of attacking Israel; and
       (3) urges the leaders of the Israeli and Palestinian 
     peoples to seek a secure future through the end of violence 
     and the resumption of the peace process.

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