[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 77 (Wednesday, June 12, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5447-S5448]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 LEGISLATION TO DENY U.S. TAXPAYER MONEY TO ARAFAT AND THE PALESTINIAN 
                               AUTHORITY

  Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I rise today in support of 
my legislation to prohibit any U.S. taxpayer money from ending up in 
the hands of Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian authority.
  Unfortunately, Yasser Arafat is not a partner in the peace process.
  As long as the United States continues to provide money to the 
Palestinian authority through grants to non-governmental organizations, 
some of that money will end up in the hands of those who wish to do 
harm to Israel.
  We must stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel in the war against 
terrorism.
  We must also send a clear message to Yasser Arafat and the 
Palestinian leadership that the United States will not tolerate 
terrorism against Israel.
  Israel is a true friend and ally.
  And, as a Nation, we share many of the same values--democracy, 
respect for human rights, freedom of the press, a strong desire for 
peace and prosperity, to name but a few.
  During the Camp David summit in July of 2000, it was Israel that was 
prepared to make tremendous concessions to ensure peace in the Region.
  As we all know today, Arafat refused to reach a peace agreement, and 
walked away from the negotiating table.
  Yasser Arafat did not want peace because he needs the conflict for 
them to stay in power.
  Instead of peace, they chose terror.
  My staff has compiled a list of terrorist attacks on Israel last 
year. In 2001, 79 attacks cost 160 innocent Israelis their lives, and 
wounded another 1,200. Since then, of course, we have all seen the 
tremendous cost in human lives and misery from many more terrorist 
attacks on innocent civilians, and the resulting isolation of Yasser 
Arafat and the civilized world's condemnation of the Palestinian 
authority.
  We dare not forget the level of terror visited upon Israel by 
Palestinian terrorists.
  Arafat is using his own personal forces to attack Israel through 
suicide attacks.
  Furthermore, he is allowing Hamas and Islamic Jihad safe harbor in 
the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
  Hamas and Islamic Jihad are two of the most heinous terrorist 
organizations in the world, responsible for the deaths of numerous 
innocent people.
  Keep in mind, at one time, Arafat promised to get rid of these 
organizations.

[[Page S5448]]

  Arafat's promises are worth nothing.
  It is wrong to ask American taxpayers to subsidize the Palestinian 
authority when Yasser Arafat uses the resources of the Palestinian 
authority to attack innocent men, women, and children in Israel.
  We have seen video footage of the Palestinian people cheering and 
dancing in the streets after the September 11th attacks--many holding 
posters of Saddam Hussein.
  Yet, while we have sanctions against Iraq, we are providing millions 
of dollars in aid to the Palestinian authority through non-governmental 
organizations.
  We know well that any funds, even designated as humanitarian, free up 
money that Arafat can use for his army of human bombers.
  If there is any doubt in anybody's mind that Yasser Arafat promotes 
terrorism, I would like you to consider the order on the official 
letterhead of the presidential bureau of the Palestinian authority/
Palestine liberation organization, bearing the signature of Yasser 
Arafat just 8 days after our country was attacked on 911, ordering $600 
be paid from the treasury of the Palestine authority to each of three 
terrorists. Two of them are senior activists of the Fatah terrorist 
group, and one of these, Ziad Da'as, is the head of the group behind a 
recent deadly terrorist attack on a bat-mitzvah party in Israel. The 
Israeli defense ministry says they recently captured this document at 
Arafat's office in Ramallah.
  Also, I ask my colleages to consider the order from Yasser Arafat to 
the finance ministry of the Palestinian authority from January 7th of 
this year. In this document, Arafat orders the disbursement of $350 to 
each of the 12 named Fatah activists. According to the Israeli Defense 
Ministry, who captured this document at Arafat's headquarters in 
Ramallah, each of these 12 individuals are known terrorists, belonging 
to Fatah and or Tanzim. Arafat's approval is given in response to a 
request of Ra'ed Karmi, then the head of the Fatah and Tanzim Terror 
Groups, which perpetrated numerous murderous attacks on innocent 
Israeli civilians since September 2000.
  American aid to the Palestinian authority allows Arafat to focus more 
of his resources on attacking Israel.
  We need to make sure no taxpayer money ends up in the Palestinian 
authority.
  My legislation would do just that.
  As recently as April 7th of this year, Tim Russert on ``Meet the 
Press'' asked the Secretary of State to deny that Arafat is funding 
terrorism. Here Is what he said:

       Russert: Israel says documents link Arafat and terrorism. 
     They seized documents and made them public, which linked the 
     office of Yasser Arafat with terrorist attacks carried out 
     against Israeli civilians and other targets. One of the 
     documents, said to be an invoice submitted by a leading 
     Palestinian militant group to a Palestinian official, among 
     other items, the invoice requested 20,000 Israeli Shekels, 
     $4,200 American, to buy electrical and chemical components 
     for the production of a month's supply of 30 bombs. It's an 
     invoice of terrorism, said Dori Gold, an advisor to Prime 
     Minister Sharon. [Mr. Secretary,] do you believe the 
     Palestinian authority harbors or supports terrorism?''

  Do you know, what our Secretary of State replied?
  Did he deny the authenticity of this document? He did not.
  Did he deny that Arafat paid the bill? He did not.
  Did he deny that our taxpayer dollars are thus funding the killing of 
innocent men, women and children? He did not.
  What he said was, ``It is a complex situation''.
  There's nothing complex about it! Our tax dollars should never be 
used for terrorism. Period. End of discussion!
  After our Nation was brutally attacked on September 11, President 
Bush set a new direction in U.S. foreign policy.
  He Said, ``From this day forward, any Nation that continues to harbor 
or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile 
regime.''
  By any honest assessment, Yasser Arafat both harbors and supports 
terrorism.
  On the other hand, Israel is a good friend of the United States and 
the only democracy in the middle east.
  I repeat, we must stand unequivocally by Israel, and do everything in 
our power to support her.
  The record is clear.
  Israel is a friend of the United States, Yasser Arafat is not.
  We can't expect Israel to negotiate with individuals who wish to 
destroy Israel's very existence.
  We must also ensure that we in no way support Arafat's oppressive 
regime by providing money to organizations affiliated with the 
Palestinian authority.
  Every dollar that we send to the west bank and Gaza is a dollar that 
could potentially be used to support terrorism.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to stand with me on the side of Israel 
and vote for my legislation.

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