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105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 50

Condemning in the strongest possible terms the bombing in Jerusalem on

September 4, 1997.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 4, 1997

Mr. HUTCHINSON submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Condemning in the strongest possible terms the bombing

in Jerusalem on September 4, 1997.

Whereas on September 4, 1997, 3 bombs exploded in Jerusalem on Ben Yehuda Street, killing at least 8 people and

injuring more than 165 others;

Whereas HAMAS, a terrorist organization, has a ‘‘military

wing’’ which has claimed responsibility for this cowardly

act;

Whereas Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, has made statements in which he said ‘‘HAMAS,

even its military wing, is a patriotic movement.’’;

Whereas on August 20, 1997, Chairman Arafat publicly embraced the leader of HAMAS, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi;
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Whereas Yasser Arafat has recently ordered the release of

several HAMAS terrorists being held in Palestinian Authority jails, including Nabil Sharihi, who is suspected in

a bombing that killed Alisa Flatow, an American citizen;

Whereas Israel has recently given Yasser Arafat a list of 150

suspected terrorists who are presently residing in Palestinian-controlled territory;

Whereas Yasser Arafat has made public statements in which

he vowed not to ‘‘bow down’’ to Israeli requests that he

arrests suspected terrorists;

Whereas since the beginning of the Oslo peace process, over

260 Israelis have been killed, and hundreds more have

been injured, far more than in a similar period before the

peace process began; and

Whereas in violation of the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority has withheld full security cooperation with the

State of Israel, which may have made this attack more

likely: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives

2 concurring), That Congress—

3 (1) condemns in the strongest possible terms

4 this latest bombing and those responsible for encour5 aging or inciting such cowardly acts;

6 (2) expresses its deepest condolences to the

7 families of the victims of this latest bombing and ex8 presses its solidarity with the people of the State of

9 Israel in this tragic time;
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1 (3) reaffirms that the United States should

2 fully cooperate with the State of Israel in helping to

3 stem the tide of terrorism, which has threatened the

4 Oslo peace process and the stability of this vital re5 gion; and

6 (4) affirms that the United States should pro7 vide no monetary or other assistance to the Palestin8 ian Authority until it has fulfilled its obligations

9 under the Oslo Accords, including—

10 (A) taking affirmative steps to arrest and

11 prosecute suspected terrorists;

12 (B) resuming full security and intelligence

13 cooperation with the State of Israel;

14 (C) taking affirmative steps to confiscate

15 all unlicensed weapons and explosives;

16 (D) publicly condemning in Arabic this

17 most recent terrorist act and other such acts;

18 (E) prohibiting participation in the Pal19 estinian security services of individuals sus20 pected of committing terrorist acts;

21 (F) ceasing all anti-Israeli rhetoric, includ22 ing statements which refer to terrorist groups

23 as ‘‘patriotic’’, statements which praise terror24 ists or terrorist leaders, and statements encour25 aging a ‘‘battle’’ or ‘‘jihad’’ against Israel;
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1 (G) cooperating with Israel in the transfer

2 of suspected terrorists to Israel to stand trial;

3 (H) rescinding the proclamation that the

4 death penalty would be imposed for the sale of

5 land to Jews or Israelis;

6 (I) ceasing the use of maps depicting ‘‘Pal7 estine’’ as encompassing the entire State of Is8 rael;

9 (J) completing the process of amending the

10 covenant of the Palestinian Liberation Organi11 zation, including the recession of those specific

12 articles which call for armed struggle to liberate

13 ‘‘Palestine’’ or question the legitimacy of Zion14 ism or the State of Israel; and

15 (K) taking affirmative steps to reduce the

16 size of the Palestinian police force, in accord17 ance with the limits set forth in the Oslo and

18 subsequent accords.

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