I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2293 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 14, 2007 

Mr. ACKERMAN (for himself, Mr. PENCE, and Mr. LANTOS) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. REPORT RELATING TO THE MURDERS OF JOHN 

4 BRANCHIZIO, MARK PARSON, AND JOHN 

5 MARIN LINDE. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find7 ings: 


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

2 identified United States diplomatic vehicles was at3 tacked by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza resulting in 

4 the deaths of John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and 

5 John Marin Linde, and the injury of a fourth Amer6 ican. 

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

8 Marin Linde were contract employees providing se9 curity to United States diplomatic personnel who 

10 were visiting Gaza in order to identify potential Pal11 estinian candidates for scholarships under the Ful12 bright Program. 

13 (3) Senior officials of the Palestinian Authority 

14 have stated that they were aware of the identities of 

15 the Palestinian terrorists who killed John 

16 Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde. 

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

18 Bank on February 7, 2005, Secretary of State 

19 Condoleezza Rice announced that she had been ‘‘as20 sured by President Abbas of the Palestinian 

21 Authority’s intention to bring justice to those who 

22 murdered three American personnel in the Gaza in 

23 2003’’. 


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

2 United States Government personnel have been pro3 hibited from all travel in Gaza. 

4 (6) The United States Rewards for Justice pro5 gram is offering a reward of up to $5,000,000 for 

6 information leading to the arrest or conviction of 

7 any persons involved in the murders of John 

8 Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde. 

9 (7) The Palestinian terrorists who killed John 

10 Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde 

11 have still not been brought to justice. 

12 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con13 gress that— 

14 (1) the continued inability or unwillingness of 

15 the Palestinian Authority to actively and aggres16 sively pursue the Palestinian terrorists who killed 

17 John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin 

18 Linde and bring them to justice calls into question 

19 the Palestinian Authority’s suitability as a partner 

20 for the United States in diplomatic efforts to resolve 

21 the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; 

22 (2) future United States assistance to the Pal23 estinian Authority may be suspended or conditioned, 

24 and the continued operation of the PLO Representa25 tive Office in Washington may be jeopardized, if the 


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1 Palestinian Authority does not fully and effectively 

2 cooperate in bringing to justice the Palestinian ter3 rorists who killed John Branchizio, Mark Parson, 

4 and John Marin Linde; and 

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

6 the United States to safeguard, to the greatest ex7 tent possible consistent with their mission, United 

8 States diplomats and all embassy and consulate per9 sonnel, and to use the full power of the United 

10 States to bring to justice any individual or entity 

11 that threatens, jeopardizes, or harms them. 

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

13 of the enactment of this Act, and every 120 days there14 after, the Secretary of State shall submit a report, on a 

15 classified basis if necessary, to the appropriate congres16 sional committees describing— 

17 (1) efforts by the United States to bring to jus18 tice the Palestinian terrorists who killed John 

19 Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde; 

20 (2) a detailed assessment of efforts by the Pal21 estinian Authority to bring to justice the Palestinian 

22 terrorists who killed John Branchizio, Mark Parson, 

23 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. 

Æ 


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