[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 151 (Thursday, November 29, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1834-E1835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        U.N. IS NOT THE FORUM FOR RESOLVING MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 29, 2012

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today, the United Nations will vote on 
whether or not to recognize the Palestinian Authority as a nonmember 
observer state of the U.N. With 132 nations having already recognized 
the Palestinian territory as a sovereign state and only 97 votes 
needed, I suspect the Palestinian Authority's effort will be 
successful. Yet, despite a ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas 
last week, the Middle East remains a volatile tinder box far from 
peace. Admitting the Palestinian Authority as a nonmember observer 
state will hurt, not help, a peace process that is already on shaky 
ground.
  The United States has opposed the Palestinian Authority's effort from 
the very beginning because it recognizes the instability that such 
recognition would create. The Palestinian Authority wants all the 
benefits of a state, without any of the responsibility. They fully 
admit that they don't know what their borders are. By definition, a 
state is a geographic territory with a sovereign government. Yes, there 
are some countries with border disputes, such as India and Pakistan in 
the Kashmir region, but the Palestinians have no agreed upon border 
whatsoever. What is a state if it can't define its own land?
  The Palestinians themselves agreed to resolve statehood issues at the 
negotiating table in the Oslo Accords (which means they are required to 
negotiate bilaterally with Israel). Now they are figuratively walking 
away from the negotiating table and literally blowing it up with 
attacks from Hamas. Meanwhile, Israel continues to help the Palestinian 
economy, including collecting over $100 million a month in taxes for 
the Palestinians and allowing more and more Palestinians to travel to 
the West Bank. One thing is for sure: it is not Israel that is holding 
up the peace process.
  With upgraded status at the U.N. come certain benefits. Here lies the 
real desire for the Palestinian U.N. gambit. A Palestinian state could 
bring war crimes charges against Israel in the International Criminal 
Court, putting the fate of Israelis in the hands of some international 
judge. This Court is so dangerous that even President Obama refuses to 
allow Americans to be prosecuted by it. The Palestinian Authority 
remains fiercely committed to bringing Israel to the International 
Criminal Court. Many of the nations who support Palestinian Statehood 
have requested assurance that Israel would be left alone if statehood 
was granted. The Palestinian Authority defiantly rejected these 
requests. Just yesterday, Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the PLO 
said: ``We have not succumbed to pressure, we did not give any 
commitment.'' The world should know they mean what they say; granting 
them this request means endangering Israel.
  Yes, the Palestinians may be successful today and no, the U.S. does 
not have veto power in a U.N. General Assembly vote, but there still 
can and should be consequences for the irresponsible actions of 
President Abbas and his old cronies in the Palestinian Liberation 
Organization, PLO. Last year, we gave

[[Page E1835]]

the Palestinian Authority $495 million. In the same timeframe, 
President Abbas' office budget was $72 million yet he refuses to tell 
us or anyone else how he spends it. There are even press reports that 
his own salary is $1 million a month. According to their own documents, 
the Palestinian Authority spent $194 million last year alone on offices 
that helped promote the Palestinians' push for recognition at the U.N. 
The U.S. should immediately cut funding to the PLO by at least $72 
million next year and require President Abbas to open up his budget for 
all to see. The days of giving money away to other nations with no 
transparency and no consequences for irresponsible behavior should be 
over.
  The United Nations has no business getting involved in the conflict 
between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Dore Gold, a former Israeli 
ambassador to the U.N. said: ``If there was a U.N. resolution whose 
first clause was anti-Israel and whose second clause was the earth is 
flat, the U.N. would pass it.'' Peace will not come from decisions made 
by a corrupt international body. If the Palestinians were committed to 
peace they would be working with Israel, not hiding behind the U.N. And 
that's just the way it is.

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