[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 52 (Thursday, April 3, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2449-S2450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 499--URGING PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRESIDENT MAHMOUD 
ABBAS, WHO IS ALSO THE HEAD OF THE FATAH PARTY, TO OFFICIALLY ABROGATE 
   THE 10 ARTICLES IN THE FATAH CONSTITUTION THAT CALL FOR ISRAEL'S 
    DESTRUCTION AND TERRORISM AGAINST ISRAEL, OPPOSE ANY POLITICAL 
                 SOLUTION, AND LABEL ZIONISM AS RACISM

  Mr. SPECTER (for himself, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. Casey) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 499

       Whereas, on October 3, 2006, President Mahmoud Abbas of the 
     Palestinian Authority said, ``It is not required of Hamas, or 
     of Fatah, or of the Popular Front to recognize Israel'';
       Whereas, on February 8, 2007, President Mahmoud Abbas 
     openly signed the Mecca Agreement with Hamas, which does not 
     recognize Israel and calls ``for confronting the [Israeli] 
     occupation'';
       Whereas, in 2007, there continue to exist 10 specific 
     articles out of 27 articles in Chapter 1 of the Fatah 
     Constitution that call for Israel's destruction, call for the 
     armed struggle and armed revolution against Israel to 
     continue, call for the prevention of Jewish immigration to 
     Israel, oppose any political solution, and label Zionism as 
     racism;
       Whereas the 10 articles of the Fatah Constitution that 
     oppose Israel and Zionism are: (1) ``Article (4): The 
     Palestinian struggle is part and parcel of the world-wide 
     struggle against Zionism, colonialism and international 
     imperialism.''; (2) ``Article (7): The Zionist Movement is 
     racial, colonial and aggressive in ideology, goals, 
     organization and method.''; (3) ``Article (8): The Israeli 
     existence in Palestine is a Zionist invasion with a colonial 
     expansive base, and it is a natural ally to colonialism and 
     international imperialism.''; (4) ``Article (12): Complete 
     liberation of Palestine, and eradication of Zionist economic, 
     political, military and cultural existence.''; (5) ``Article 
     (17): Armed public revolution is the inevitable method to 
     liberating Palestine.''; (6) ``Article (19): Armed struggle 
     is a strategy and not a tactic, and the Palestinian Arab 
     People's armed revolution is a decisive factor in the 
     liberation fight and in uprooting the Zionist existence, and 
     this struggle will not cease unless the Zionist state is 
     demolished and Palestine is completely liberated.''; (7) 
     ``Article (22): Opposing any political solution offered as an 
     alternative to demolishing the Zionist occupation in 
     Palestine, as well as any project intended to liquidate the 
     Palestinian case or impose any international mandate on its 
     people.''; (8) ``Article (23): Maintaining relations with 
     Arab countries . . . with the proviso that the armed struggle 
     is not negatively affected''; (9) ``Article (24): Maintaining 
     relations with all liberal forces supporting our just 
     struggle in order to resist Zionism and imperialism''; and 
     (10) ``Article (25): Convincing concerned countries in the 
     world to prevent Jewish immigration to Palestine as a method 
     of solving the problem.'': Now, therefore be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) urges President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian 
     Authority, who is also head of the Fatah Party, to officially 
     abrogate the 10 articles from the Fatah Constitution that 
     call for the destruction of Israel and terrorism against 
     Israel, oppose any political solution, and label Zionism as 
     racism; and
       (2) condemns the continuing existence of these articles as 
     part of the Fatah Constitution.

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to offer 
legislation to encourage Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, 
who is also the chairman of the Fatah Party, to officially abrogate the 
10 articles in the Fatah Constitution that call for Israel's 
destruction and terrorism against Israel, oppose any political 
solution, and label Zionism as racism.
  In order to move the Middle East peace process forward, it is 
necessary that the Fatah Party recognize Israel's legitimacy. The Fatah 
Constitution makes this impossible. At present, 10 articles in the 
constitution oppose Israel and Zionism. They read as follows:

       (1) ``Article [4]: The Palestinian struggle is part and 
     parcel of the world-wide struggle against Zionism, 
     colonialism and international imperialism.''
       (2) ``Article [7]: The Zionist Movement is racial, colonial 
     and aggressive in ideology, goals, organization and method.''
       (3) ``Article [8]: The Israeli existence in Palestine is a 
     Zionist invasion with a colonial expansive base, and it is a 
     natural ally to colonialism and international imperialism.''
       (4) ``Article [12]: Complete liberation of Palestine, and 
     eradication of Zionist economic, political, military and 
     cultural existence.''
       (5) ``Article [17]: Armed public revolution is the 
     inevitable method to liberating Palestine.''
       (6) ``Article [19]: Armed struggle is a strategy and not a 
     tactic, and the Palestinian Arab People's armed revolution is 
     a decisive factor in the liberation fight and in uprooting 
     the Zionist existence, and this struggle will not cease 
     unless the Zionist state is demolished and Palestine is 
     completely liberated.''
       (7) ``Article [22]: Opposing any political solution offered 
     as an alternative to demolishing the Zionist occupation in 
     Palestine, as well as any project intended to liquidate the 
     Palestinian case or impose any international mandate on its 
     people.''
       (8) ``Article [23]: Maintaining relations with Arab 
     countries . . . with the proviso that the armed struggle is 
     not negatively affected.''
       (9) ``Article [24]: Maintaining relations with all liberal 
     forces supporting our just struggle in order to resist 
     Zionism and imperialism.''

[[Page S2450]]

       (10) ``Article [25]: Convincing concerned countries in the 
     world to prevent Jewish immigration to Palestine as a method 
     of solving the problem.''

  The issue of the Mideast peace process has been tortuous. There have 
been so many developments since Israel emerged as a state in 1949. The 
enmity, which has existed for thousands of years, has meant senseless 
killing, terrorism in Israel, and Hezbollah firing rockets into 
northern Israel, prompting the justified retaliation by Israel as a 
matter of self-defense.
  Much has changed since the Fatah Constitution was written in 1964. 
While some question the relevance of the document with respect to the 
day-to-day operations of the Palestinian Government, the fact remains 
that the language is incendiary. By striking the polemical language 
from its constitution, Fatah would be setting an example for the Arab 
world. It would demonstrate that the Palestinian leadership understands 
the importance of words and perceptions in the peace process.
  This is not the first time I have addressed such an issue. In 1994, 
the U.S. Congress adopted an amendment put forward by Senator Shelby 
and myself, which conditioned U.S. aid on the Palestinian Liberation 
Organization's elimination of provisions in its charter that called for 
the destruction of Israel. The amendment was accepted by the U.S. 
Congress.
  The problem of the institutionalization of inflammatory language in 
the Middle East extends beyond the Fatah Constitution. The Center for 
Religious Freedom, formerly affiliated with Freedom House, in a 2006 
report entitled ``Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance,'' stated 
that despite 2005 statements by the Saudi Foreign Minister that their 
educational curricula have been reformed, this is ``simply not the 
case.'' On the contrary, religious textbooks continue to advocate the 
destruction of any non-Wahhabi Muslim. Saudi Arabia has established 
Wahhabism, an extreme form of Islam, as the official state doctrine, 
and about 5 million children are instructed each year in Islamic 
studies using Saudi Ministry of Education textbooks.
  My intent in bringing the Fatah Constitution into focus now is not to 
undermine the Presidency of Mahmoud Abbas. Rather, my intent is to 
ensure that these problems of perception are addressed now so that all 
parties can take further steps towards peace.
  The November 27, 2007, Joint Israeli-Palestinian Declaration at 
Annapolis stated, ``We express our determination to bring an end to 
bloodshed, suffering and decades of conflict between our peoples; to 
usher in a new era of peace, based on freedom, security, justice, 
dignity, respect and mutual recognition; to propagate a culture of 
peace and nonviolence; to confront terrorism and incitement, whether 
committed by Palestinians or Israelis.''
  As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated on October 15, 2007, in 
Ramallah, ``If you're going to have a two-state solution, you have to 
accept the right of the other party to exist. If you're going to have a 
two-state solution that is born of negotiation, you're going to have to 
renounce violence.'' I urge President Abbas to take action, not only in 
words, but with deeds.

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