I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1856 

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Palestinian AntiTerrorism Act of 2006 to further promote the development of democratic 

institutions in areas under the administrative control of the Palestinian 

Authority, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 30, 2007 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mr. CANTOR, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. PENCE, Mr. 

MCCAUL of Texas, and Mr. BURTON of Indiana) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary and Financial Services, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 to further promote 

the development of democratic institutions in areas under 

the administrative control of the Palestinian Authority, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Palestinian Anti-Ter5 rorism Act Amendments of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE TO THE PALESTINIAN 

2 AUTHORITY. 

3 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 620K of the Foreign As4 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2378b) is amended to 

5 read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 620K. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE TO THE PALES7 TINIAN AUTHORITY. 

8 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in subsection 

9 (e), assistance may be provided under this Act to the Pal10 estinian Authority only during a period for which a certifi11 cation described in subsection (b) is in effect. 

12 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.—A certification described in 

13 this subsection is a certification transmitted by the Presi14 dent to Congress that contains a determination of the 

15 President that— 

16 ‘‘(1) no ministry, agency, or instrumentality of 

17 the Palestinian Authority is controlled by a foreign 

18 terrorist organization and no member of a foreign 

19 terrorist organization serves in a senior policy mak20 ing position in a ministry, agency, or instrumentality 

21 of the Palestinian Authority; 

22 ‘‘(2) the Palestinian Authority has— 

23 ‘‘(A) publicly acknowledged Israel’s right 

24 to exist as a Jewish state; and 

25 ‘‘(B) recommitted itself and is adhering to 

26 all previous agreements and understandings by 


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1 the Palestine Liberation Organization and the 

2 Palestinian Authority with the Government of 

3 the United States, the Government of Israel, 

4 and the international community, including 

5 agreements and understandings pursuant to the 

6 Performance-Based Roadmap to a Permanent 

7 Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian 

8 Conflict (commonly referred to as the ‘Road9 map’); and 

10 ‘‘(3) the Palestinian Authority has taken effec11 tive steps and made demonstrable progress toward— 

12 ‘‘(A) completing the process of purging 

13 from its security services individuals with ties to 

14 terrorism; 

15 ‘‘(B) dismantling all terrorist infrastruc16 ture, confiscating unauthorized weapons, arrest17 ing and bringing terrorists to justice, destroying 

18 unauthorized arms factories, thwarting and pre19 empting terrorist attacks, and fully cooperating 

20 with Israel’s security services; 

21 ‘‘(C) halting all anti-Israel incitement in 

22 Palestinian Authority-controlled electronic and 

23 print media and in schools, mosques, and other 

24 institutions it controls, and replacing these ma25 terials, including textbooks, with materials that 


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1 promote tolerance, peace, and coexistence with 

2 Israel; 

3 ‘‘(D) ensuring democracy, the rule of law, 

4 and an independent judiciary, and adopting 

5 other reforms such as ensuring transparent and 

6 accountable governance; and 

7 ‘‘(E) ensuring the financial transparency 

8 and accountability of all government ministries 

9 and operations. 

10 ‘‘(c) RECERTIFICATIONS.—Not later than 90 days 

11 after the date on which the President transmits to Con12 gress an initial certification under subsection (b), and 

13 every six months thereafter— 

14 ‘‘(1) the President shall transmit to Congress a 

15 recertification that the requirements contained in 

16 subsection (b) are continuing to be met; or 

17 ‘‘(2) if the President is unable to make such a 

18 recertification, the President shall transmit to Con19 gress a report that contains the reasons therefor. 

20 ‘‘(d) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Assistance 

21 made available under this Act to the Palestinian Authority 

22 may not be provided until 15 days after the date on which 

23 the President has provided notice thereof to the appro24 priate congressional committees in accordance with the 


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1 procedures applicable to reprogramming notifications 

2 under section 634A(a) of this Act. 

3 ‘‘(e) EXCEPTION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT THE MIDDLE

5 EAST PEACE PROCESS.—Subsection (a) shall not 

6 apply with respect to assistance to the Office of the 

7 President of the Palestinian Authority for non-secu8 rity expenses directly related to facilitating a peace9 ful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if the 

10 President transmits to Congress a certification that 

11 contains a determination of the President that— 

12 ‘‘(A) such assistance is critical to facili13 tating a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Pales14 tinian conflict; 

15 ‘‘(B) the President of the Palestinian Au16 thority is not a member of or affiliated with a 

17 foreign terrorist organization and has rejected 

18 the use of terrorism to resolve the Israeli-Pales19 tinian conflict; 

20 ‘‘(C) such assistance will not be used to 

21 provide funds to any individual who is a mem22 ber of or affiliated with a foreign terrorist orga23 nization or who has not rejected the use of ter24 rorism to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(D) such assistance will not be retrans2 ferred to any other entity within or outside of 

3 the Palestinian Authority. 

4 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Assistance 

5 described in paragraph (1) may be provided only if 

6 the President— 

7 ‘‘(A) determines that the provision of such 

8 assistance is important to the national security 

9 interests of the United States; and 

10 ‘‘(B) not less than 30 days prior to the ob11 ligation of amounts for the provision of such as12 sistance— 

13 ‘‘(i) consults with the appropriate con14 gressional committees regarding the spe15 cific programs, projects, and activities to 

16 be carried out using such assistance; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) submits to the appropriate con18 gressional committees a written memo19 randum that contains the determination of 

20 the President under subparagraph (A). 

21 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT23 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com24 mittees’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

2 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

3 House of Representatives; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

5 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 Senate. 

7 ‘‘(2) FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.— 

8 The term ‘foreign terrorist organization’ means an 

9 organization designated as a foreign terrorist organi10 zation by the Secretary of State in accordance with 

11 section 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 

12 Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)). 

13 ‘‘(3) PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY.—The term 

14 ‘Palestinian Authority’ means the interim Pales15 tinian administrative organization that governs part 

16 of the West Bank and all of the Gaza Strip (or any 

17 successor Palestinian governing entity), including 

18 the Palestinian Legislative Council.’’. 

19 (b) APPLICABILITY TO UNEXPENDED FUNDS.—Sec20 tion 620K of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as 

21 amended by subsection (a), applies with respect to unex22 pended funds obligated for assistance under the Foreign 

23 Assistance Act of 1961 to the Palestinian Authority before 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (c) REPORT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—Not later 

2 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

3 the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 

4 to the appropriate congressional committees a report that 

5 contains a review of the proposed procedures by which 

6 United States assistance to the Palestinian Authority 

7 under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 will be audited 

8 by the Department of State, the United States Agency for 

9 International Development, and all other relevant depart10 ments and agencies of the Government of the United 

11 States and any recommendations for improvement of such 

12 procedures. 

13 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con14 gress that the President should be guided by the principles 

15 and procedures described in section 620K of the Foreign 

16 Assistance Act of 1961, as amended by subsection (a), in 

17 providing direct assistance to the Palestinian Authority 

18 under any provision of law other than the Foreign Assist19 ance Act of 1961. 

20 SEC. 3. UNITED NATIONS AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS. 

21 (a) REVIEW AND REPORT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

24 shall— 


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1 (A) conduct an audit of the functions of 

2 the entities specified in paragraph (2); and 

3 (B) transmit to the appropriate congres4 sional committees a report containing rec5 ommendations for the elimination of such enti6 ties and efforts that are duplicative or fail to 

7 ensure balance in the approach of the United 

8 Nations to Israeli-Palestinian issues. 

9 (2) ENTITIES SPECIFIED.—The entities re10 ferred to in paragraph (1) are the following: 

11 (A) The United Nations Division for Pales12 tinian Rights. 

13 (B) The Committee on the Exercise of the 

14 Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. 

15 (C) The United Nations Special Coordi16 nator for the Middle East Peace Process and 

17 Personal Representative to the Palestine Lib18 eration Organization and the Palestinian Au19 thority. 

20 (D) The NGO Network on the Question of 

21 Palestine. 

22 (E) The Special Committee to Investigate 

23 Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of 

24 the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the 

25 Occupied Territories. 


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1 (F) Any other entity the President deter2 mines results in duplicative efforts or funding 

3 or fails to ensure balance in the approach to 

4 Israeli-Palestinian issues. 

5 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS BY

6 PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The United States Perma8 nent Representative to the United Nations shall use 

9 the voice, vote, and influence of the United States at 

10 the United Nations to seek the implementation of 

11 the recommendations contained in the report re12 quired under subsection (a)(1)(B). 

13 (2) WITHHOLDING OF FUNDS.—Until the 

14 President certifies to the Congress that such rec15 ommendations have been implemented, the Secretary 

16 of State shall withhold from United States contribu17 tions to the regular assessed budget of the United 

18 Nations for a biennial period amounts that are pro19 portional to the percentage of such budget that are 

20 expended for such entities. 

21 (c) GAO AUDIT.—The Comptroller General of the 

22 United States shall conduct an audit of the status of the 

23 implementation of the recommendations contained in the 

24 report required under subsection (a)(1)(B). 


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1 (d) WITHHOLDING OF FUNDS WITH RESPECT TO

2 THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY.— 

3 (1) ASSESSED CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Secretary 

4 of State shall withhold from United States contribu5 tions to the regular assessed budget of the United 

6 Nations for a biennial period amounts that are equal 

7 to the amounts of such budget that are expended by 

8 any United Nations affiliated or specialized agency 

9 for assistance directly to the Palestinian Authority. 

10 (2) VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Sec11 retary of State shall withhold from United States 

12 contributions to the voluntary budget of the United 

13 Nations for a biennial period amounts that are equal 

14 to the amounts of such budget that are expended by 

15 any United Nations affiliated or specialized agency 

16 for assistance directly to the Palestinian Authority. 

17 (3) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this sec18 tion, the term ‘‘amounts of such budget that are ex19 pended by any United Nations affiliated or special20 ized agency for assistance directly to the Palestinian 

21 Authority’’ does not include— 

22 (A) amounts expended during any period 

23 for which a certification described in section 

24 620K(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

25 (as amended by section 2(a) of this Act) is in 


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1 effect with respect to the Palestinian Authority; 

2 or 

3 (B) amounts expended for assistance of 

4 the type of assistance described in section 

5 104(c), 104A, 104B, or 104C of the Foreign 

6 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151b, 

7 2151b–2, 2151b–3, or 2151b–4) and which 

8 would, if provided by the Government of the 

9 United States, be permitted under such sec10 tions, or under chapter 4 of part II of such Act 

11 (22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.) to carry out the pur12 poses of such sections, by reason of the applica13 tion of section 104(c)(4) of such Act. 

14 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF TERRITORY CONTROLLED BY THE 

15 PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY AS TERRORIST 

16 SANCTUARY. 

17 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—During any period for 

18 which a certification described in section 620K(b) of the 

19 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as amended by section 

20 2(a) of this Act) is not in effect with respect to the Pales21 tinian Authority, it shall be the policy of the United States 

22 to designate the territory controlled by the Palestinian Au23 thority to be in use as a sanctuary for terrorists or ter24 rorist organizations for purposes of section 6(j)(5) of the 

25 Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 


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1 2405(j)(5)) and section 140 of the Foreign Relations Au2 thorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. 

3 2656f). 

4 (b) REPEAL.—Section 4 of the Palestinian Anti-Ter5 rorism Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–446; 22 U.S.C. 

6 2378b note) is hereby repealed. 

7 SEC. 5. DENIAL OF VISAS FOR OFFICIALS OF THE PALES8 TINIAN AUTHORITY. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

10 (b), a visa shall not be issued to any alien who is an official 

11 of, affiliated with, or serving as a representative of the 

12 Palestinian Authority during any period for which a cer13 tification described in section 620K(b) of the Foreign As14 sistance Act of 1961 (as amended by section 2(a) of this 

15 Act) is not in effect with respect to the Palestinian Au16 thority. 

17 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—The restriction under subsection 

18 (a) shall not apply— 

19 (1) if the President determines and certifies to 

20 the appropriate congressional committees, on a case21 by-case basis, that the issuance of a visa to an alien 

22 described in such subsection is important to the na23 tional security interests of the United States; or 

24 (2) with respect to visas issued in connection 

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1 gust 4, 1947 (61 Stat. 756) (commonly known as 

2 the ‘‘United Nations Headquarters Agreement 

3 Act’’). 

4 (c) REPEAL.—Section 5 of the Palestinian Anti-Ter5 rorism Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–446; 22 U.S.C. 

6 2378b note) is hereby repealed. 

7 SEC. 6. TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS ON OFFICIALS AND REP8 RESENTATIVES OF THE PALESTINIAN AU9 THORITY AND THE PALESTINE LIBERATION 

10 ORGANIZATION STATIONED AT THE UNITED 

11 NATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall restrict the 

13 travel of officials and representatives of the Palestinian 

14 Authority and of the Palestine Liberation Organization 

15 who are stationed at the United Nations in New York City 

16 to a 25-mile radius of the United Nations headquarters 

17 building during any period for which a certification de18 scribed in section 620K(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act 

19 of 1961 (as amended by section 2(a) of this Act) is not 

20 in effect with respect to the Palestinian Authority. 

21 (b) REPEAL.—Section 6 of the Palestinian Anti-Ter22 rorism Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–446; 22 U.S.C. 

23 2378b note) is hereby repealed. 


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1 SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY AND 

2 PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION REP3 RESENTATION IN THE UNITED STATES. 

4 (a) PROHIBITION.—Subsection (a) of section 7 of the 

5 Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 (Public Law 109– 

6 446; 22 U.S.C. 2378b note) is amended by inserting ‘‘or 

7 the Palestine Liberation Organization’’ after ‘‘Palestinian 

8 Authority’’. 

9 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—Subsection (b)(1) of such sec10 tion is amended by adding at the end before the period 

11 the following ‘‘, including steps necessary to apply the poli12 cies and provisions of subsection (a) to the Permanent Ob13 server Mission of Palestine to the United Nations’’. 

14 (c) WAIVER.—Subsection (c) of such section is 

15 amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(c) WAIVER.— 

17 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The President may waive 

18 the application of subsection (a) for a period of 180 

19 days if the President determines and certifies to the 

20 appropriate congressional committees that such 

21 waiver— 

22 ‘‘(A) is vital to the national security inter23 ests of the United States and provides an expla24 nation of how the failure to waive the applica25 tion of subsection (a) would be inconsistent 


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1 with the vital national security interests of the 

2 United States; and 

3 ‘‘(B) would further the achievement of the 

4 requirements outlined in the certification de5 scribed in section 620K(b) of the Foreign As6 sistance Act of 1961 (as added by section 

7 2(b)(2) of this Act and amended by section 2(a) 

8 of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act Amend9 ments of 2007). 

10 ‘‘(2) RENEWAL.—The President may renew the 

11 waiver described in paragraph (1) for successive 

12 180-day periods if the President makes the deter13 mination and certification described in such para14 graph for each such period.’’. 

15 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading for 

16 such section is amended by inserting ‘‘AND PALESTINE

17 LIBERATION ORGANIZATION’’ after ‘‘PALESTINIAN

18 AUTHORITY’’. 

19 SEC. 8. INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 

20 (a) UNITED STATES POLICY.—It shall be the policy 

21 of the United States that the United States Executive Di22 rector at each international financial institution shall use 

23 the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to pro24 hibit assistance to the Palestinian Authority unless a cerVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:53 Apr 05, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1856.IH H1856

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1 tification described in subsection (b) is in effect with re2 spect to the Palestinian Authority. 

3 (b) CERTIFICATION.—A certification described in this 

4 subsection is a certification transmitted by the President 

5 to the appropriate congressional committees that contains 

6 a determination of the President that the requirements of 

7 paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)(A), (B), (C), and (E) of sec8 tion 620K(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as 

9 amended by section 2(a) of this Act) are being met by 

10 the Palestinian Authority. 

11 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘inter12 national financial institution’’ has the meaning given the 

13 term in section 1701(c)(2) of the International Financial 

14 Institutions Act. 

15 (d) REPEAL.—Section 8 of the Palestinian Anti-Ter16 rorism Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–446; 22 U.S.C. 

17 2378b note) is hereby repealed. 

18 SEC. 9. DIPLOMATIC CONTACTS WITH PALESTINIAN TER19 ROR ORGANIZATIONS. 

20 Section 9 of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 

21 2006 (Public Law 109–446; 22 U.S.C. 2378b note) is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

24 inserting ‘‘or have substantive contacts’’ after ‘‘nego25 tiate’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘and the Pal2 estine Liberation Organization’’ after ‘‘State of 

3 Israel’’. 

4 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’’ means— 

9 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

10 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

11 of Representatives; and 

12 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

13 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

14 Senate. 

15 (2) PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Pal16 estinian Authority’’ has the meaning given the term 

17 in section 620K(f)(3) of the Foreign Assistance Act 

18 of 1961 (as amended by section 2(a) of this Act). 

Æ 


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