[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14346]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       PRAISE FOR PRESIDENT BUSH AND PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ERIC CANTOR

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 2003

  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to praise President Bush and 
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel for never giving up hope that we 
can achieve peace in the Middle East. President Bush is a champion of 
peace and a leader that the world should rally around as he works to 
bring tranquility to this troubled region. That is why European 
insistence on negotiating with Yassir Arafat is so troubling. If Europe 
is committed to peace, now more than ever, they must end their dealings 
with Yassir Arafat.
  Arafat is a terrorist who stalled the peace process to further his 
personal agenda. No one can doubt that Arafat ordered the murder of 
thousands of civilians while he stole billions of dollars in 
humanitarian aid. Arafat has proven he does not support peace, and as a 
result, Europe should stop dealing with him.
  Last week in Aqaba, Jordan, Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime 
Minister Mahmoud Abbas emerged from a joint meeting with President Bush 
to pledge initial steps toward the goals of ending violence and 
establishing a Palestinian state.
  Abbas promised to end terrorism and the armed uprising against 
Israel. Sharon said Israel would ease controls on Palestinian areas, 
dismantle certain outposts and negotiate in good faith toward creation 
of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. To worldwide appreciation, Mr. 
Sharon has already begun dismantling outposts and maintaining his 
commitment to peace. We will continue to watch and hope that Mr. Abbas 
keeps his promise to end the terrorism and murder of innocent people.
  In light of these agreements by both the Israelis and the Palestinian 
leadership, there is no choice but to end all dealings with Arafat and 
his terrorists.
  Arafat, who was rightly excluded from the Aqaba summit by the U.S., 
is expected to try to reassert his influence. Looking at the history of 
Arafat, one can only suspect he will order and organize another wave of 
terrorist violence to destroy any hope for peace. European diplomats 
told the United States last week that they would maintain contact with 
Arafat.
  European leaders are aiding Arafat's illegitimate cause and are 
directly hurting the peace process by continuing to make this terrorist 
relevant. I call on the European leaders to follow President Bush's 
lead and to stop dealing with Arafat, who is and never will be anything 
more than a terrorist.

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