[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 17, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1384. Mr. PAUL submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 1381 proposed by Mrs. Murray to the bill H.R. 2872, of
2013 to allow the Secretary of the Interior to issue electronic stamps
under such Act, and for other purposes,; which was ordered to lie on
the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. PROHIBITION ON FOREIGN ASSISTANCE TO THE PALESTINIAN
AUTHORITY OR ANY OTHER PALESTINIAN GOVERNING
ENTITY IN THE WEST BANK AND GAZA.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) On October 7, 2023, the terrorist organization Hamas
conducted a brutal attack against Israel, killing some 1,200
innocent men, women, and children, and taking approximately
250 people hostage.
(2) At least 33 United States citizens lost their lives in
the October 7, 2023, attack.
(3) At least 6 United States citizens remain unaccounted
for and presumed taken captive by Hamas.
(4) Hamas continues to fire rockets indiscriminately toward
Israel.
(5) Hamas was designated as a foreign terrorist
organization by the United States in October 1997.
(6) On November 26, 2023, a spokesperson for the Israel
Defense Forces said that 770 ``terrorism events'' were
carried out by Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7,
2023, including shootings and hurling stones and Molotov
cocktails.
(7) The United States provided more than $7,600,000,000 in
bilateral assistance to Palestinians in the West Bank and
Gaza since 1993.
(8) The United States obligated more than $280,000,000 to
the West Bank and Gaza in 2023.
(9) The Department of State's West Bank and Gaza 2022 Human
Rights Report identified significant human rights issues with
respect to the Palestinian Authority, including credible
reports of unlawful or arbitrary killings by Palestinian
Authority officials, torture or cruel, inhumane, or degrading
treatment or punishments by Palestinian Authority officials,
arbitrary arrest or detention of political prisoners and
detainees, and significant problems with the independence of
the judiciary.
(10) The report identified the Palestinian Authority
committing arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy;
serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media,
including violence, threats of violence, unjustified
detentions and prosecutions of journalists, and censorship;
and serious restrictions on internet freedom.
(11) The report identified the Palestinian Authority
committing substantial interference with the freedom of
peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including
harassment of nongovernmental organizations, serious and
unreasonable restrictions on political participation,
including no national elections since 2006, and serious
government corruption.
(12) The report found that the Palestinian Authority did
not adequately investigate or hold accountable gender-based
violence, and crimes, violence, and threats of violence
motivated by anti-Semitism.
(b) Prohibition on Assistance to Palestinian Authority and
Other Governing Entities in the West Bank and Gaza.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided under paragraph (2) and
notwithstanding any other provision of law, no amounts may be
obligated or expended to provide any direct United States
assistance, loan guarantee, or debt relief to the Palestinian
Authority or any other Palestinian governing entity in the
West Bank and Gaza.
(2) Exception.--The prohibition under paragraph (1) shall
have no effect for a fiscal year if the President certifies
to Congress during that fiscal year that--
(A) the Palestinian Authority, or other Palestinian
governing entity in the West Bank and Gaza, has--
(i) formally recognized the right of Israel to exist as a
Jewish state;
(ii) publicly recognized the state of Israel;
(iii) renounced terrorism;
(iv) purged all individuals with terrorist ties from
security services;
(v) terminated funding of anti-American and anti-Israel
incitement;
(vi) publicly renounced Hamas and the October 7, 2023,
attacks perpetrated by Hamas on Israel; and
(vii) honored previous diplomatic agreements; and
(B) all hostages abducted on October 7, 2023, and held in
territory governed by the Palestinian Authority or other
Palestinian governing authority have been released.
(c) Request for Information on Human Rights Practices by
the Palestinian Authority or Any Other Palestinian Governing
Entity in the West Bank and Gaza.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
the adoption of this resolution, the Secretary of State, in
collaboration with the Assistant Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the Office of the
Legal Adviser, shall submit to the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs
of the House of Representatives a report on the human rights
practices of the Palestinian Authority, or any other
Palestinian governing entity in the West Bank and Gaza.
(2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1)
shall include--
(A) all available credible information concerning alleged
violations of internationally recognized human rights by the
Palestinian Authority or any other Palestinian governing
entity in the West Bank and Gaza, including--
(i) the denial of the right to life to Israeli citizens,
Jewish individuals, women and girls, or any other minority
group; and
(ii) the use of torture or cruel, inhumane, or degrading
treatment or punishment, prolonged detention without charges
and trial, causing the disappearance of persons by the
abduction and clandestine detention of those persons, and
other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or the
security of person;
(B) a description of the steps that the United States
Government has taken to--
(i) promote respect for and observance of human rights as
part of the activities of the Palestinian Authority or any
other Palestinian governing entity in the West Bank and Gaza;
(ii) discourage any practices that are inimical to
internationally recognized human rights; and
(iii) publicly or privately call attention to, and
disassociate the United States and any foreign assistance
provided for the Palestinian Authority or any other
Palestinian governing entity in the West Bank and Gaza from,
any practices described in clause (ii);
(C) a description of the intended uses of all foreign
assistance provided by the United States to the Palestinian
Authority or any other Palestinian governing entity in the
West Bank and Gaza; and
(D) a list of international organizations that--
(i) accept financial contributions from the United States
Government; and
(ii) provide assistance of any kind to the Palestinian
Authority or any other Palestinian governing entity in the
West Bank and Gaza.
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