IIB 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2293 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 17, 2007 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of State to submit to Congress 

a report on efforts to bring to justice the Palestinian 

terrorists who killed John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and 

John Marin Linde. 

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

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1 SECTION 1. REPORT RELATING TO THE MURDERS OF JOHN 

2 BRANCHIZIO, MARK PARSON, AND JOHN 

3 MARIN LINDE. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find5 ings: 

6 (1) On October 15, 2003, a convoy of clearly 

7 identified United States diplomatic vehicles was at8 tacked by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza resulting in 

9 the deaths of John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and 

10 John Marin Linde, and the injury of a fourth Amer11 ican. 

12 (2) John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John 

13 Marin Linde were contract employees providing se14 curity to United States diplomatic personnel who 

15 were visiting Gaza in order to identify potential Pal16 estinian candidates for scholarships under the Ful17 bright Program. 

18 (3) Senior officials of the Palestinian Authority 

19 have stated that they were aware of the identities of 

20 the Palestinian terrorists who killed John 

21 Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde. 

22 (4) Following her visit to Israel and the West 

23 Bank on February 7, 2005, Secretary of State 

24 Condoleezza Rice announced that she had been ‘‘as25 sured by President Abbas of the Palestinian 

26 Authority’s intention to bring justice to those who 

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1 murdered three American personnel in the Gaza in 

2 2003’’. 

3 (5) Since the bombing on October 15, 2003, 

4 United States Government personnel have been pro5 hibited from all travel in Gaza. 

6 (6) The United States Rewards for Justice pro7 gram is offering a reward of up to $5,000,000 for 

8 information leading to the arrest or conviction of 

9 any persons involved in the murders of John 

10 Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde. 

11 (7) The Palestinian terrorists who killed John 

12 Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde 

13 have still not been brought to justice. 

14 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con15 gress that— 

16 (1) the continued inability or unwillingness of 

17 the Palestinian Authority to actively and aggres18 sively pursue the Palestinian terrorists who killed 

19 John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin 

20 Linde and bring them to justice calls into question 

21 the Palestinian Authority’s suitability as a partner 

22 for the United States in diplomatic efforts to resolve 

23 the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; 

24 (2) future United States assistance to the Pal25 estinian Authority may be suspended or conditioned, 

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1 and the continued operation of the PLO Representa2 tive Office in Washington may be jeopardized, if the 

3 Palestinian Authority does not fully and effectively 

4 cooperate in bringing to justice the Palestinian ter5 rorists who killed John Branchizio, Mark Parson, 

6 and John Marin Linde; and 

7 (3) it is in the vital national security interest of 

8 the United States to safeguard, to the greatest ex9 tent possible consistent with their mission, United 

10 States diplomats and all embassy and consulate per11 sonnel, and to use the full power of the United 

12 States to bring to justice any individual or entity 

13 that threatens, jeopardizes, or harms them. 

14 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

15 of the enactment of this Act, and every 120 days there16 after, the Secretary of State shall submit a report, on a 

17 classified basis if necessary, to the appropriate congres18 sional committees describing— 

19 (1) efforts by the United States to bring to jus20 tice the Palestinian terrorists who killed John 

21 Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde; 

22 (2) a detailed assessment of efforts by the Pal23 estinian Authority to bring to justice the Palestinian 

24 terrorists who killed John Branchizio, Mark Parson, 

25 and John Marin Linde, including— 

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1 (A) the number of arrests, interrogations, 

2 and interviews by Palestinian Authority officials 

3 related to the case; 

4 (B) the number of Palestinian security 

5 personnel and man-hours assigned to the case; 

6 (C) the extent of personal supervision or 

7 involvement by the President and Ministers of 

8 the Palestinian Authority; and 

9 (D) the degree of cooperation between the 

10 United States and the Palestinian Authority in 

11 regards to this case; 

12 (3) a specific assessment by the Secretary of 

13 whether the Palestinian efforts described in para14 graph (2) constitute the best possible effort by the 

15 Palestinian Authority; and 

16 (4) any additional steps or initiatives requested 

17 or recommended by the United States that were not 

18 pursued by the Palestinian Authority. 

19 (d) CERTIFICATION.—The requirement to submit a 

20 report under subsection (c) shall no longer apply if the 

21 Secretary of State certifies to the appropriate congres22 sional committees that the Palestinian terrorists who 

23 killed John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin 

24 Linde have been identified, arrested, and brought to jus25 tice. 

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1 (e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro2 priate congressional committees’’ means— 

3 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

4 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep5 resentatives; and 

6 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

7 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 16, 2007. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 

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