[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 22352]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



              GILMAN CONDEMNS ONGOING PALESTINIAN VIOLENCE

  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, the past 2 weeks, tension in the Middle East 
has spiraled out of control as PLO Chairman Mr. Arafat attempts to 
dictate Israeli concessions at the negotiating table through the 
unbridled use of violence and, most appallingly, through the 
manipulation of young children as ``martyrs in training.''
  This massive, fundamental violation of the Oslo Accords is 
intentional, as underscored when the leader of the Tanzim paramilitary 
forces in the West Bank said yesterday that his organization would 
escalate the confrontations with Israel and not try to calm the 
situation. Marwan Barghuti said, and I quote, ``This blessed Intifada 
is looking ahead and mass activity is moving forward.''
  Mr. Speaker, in today's latest outrage, a Palestinian mob killed two 
Israeli soldiers and dumped their bloody bodies in the streets after 
the pair were captured with two other servicemen earlier today in the 
Palestinian city of Ramallah. That is why I am appalled that the 
administration abstained during the recent U.N. Security Council 
condemnation of Israel. The administration must understand, as must the 
Palestinians, that you cannot have it both ways.
  Today, I will be introducing a resolution along with the gentleman 
from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson) of the Committee on International 
Relations condemning the Palestinian violence. I invite our colleagues 
to join us in cosponsorship.

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