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[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 5 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 5

Expressing congressional opposition to the unilateral declaration of a 
  Palestinian state and urging the President to assert clearly United 
    States opposition to such a unilateral declaration of statehood.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 4, 1999

 Mr. Brownback (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Mack, Mr. Smith of Oregon, 
  Mr. Hatch, Mr. Kerrey, Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. Helms, Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. 
 Schumer, Mr. Torricelli, Mr. Grams, and Mr. Lautenberg) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
Expressing congressional opposition to the unilateral declaration of a 
  Palestinian state and urging the President to assert clearly United 
    States opposition to such a unilateral declaration of statehood.

Whereas at the heart of the Oslo peace process lies the basic, irrevocable 
        commitment made by Palestinian Chairman Yasir Arafat that, in his words, 
        ``all outstanding issues relating to permanent status will be resolved 
        through negotiations'';
Whereas resolving the political status of the territory controlled by the 
        Palestinian Authority while ensuring Israel's security is one of the 
        central issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict;
Whereas a declaration of statehood by the Palestinians outside the framework of 
        negotiations would, therefore, constitute a most fundamental violation 
        of the Oslo process;
Whereas Yasir Arafat and other Palestinian leaders have repeatedly threatened to 
        declare unilaterally the establishment of a Palestinian state;
Whereas the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state would introduce a 
        dramatically destabilizing element into the Middle East, risking Israeli 
        countermeasures, a quick descent into violence, and an end to the entire 
        peace process; and
Whereas in light of continuing statements by Palestinian leaders, United States 
        opposition to any unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood should 
        be made clear and unambiguous: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That--
            (1) the final political status of the territory controlled 
        by the Palestinian Authority can only be determined through 
        negotiations and agreement between Israel and the Palestinian 
        Authority;
            (2) any attempt to establish Palestinian statehood outside 
        the negotiating process will invoke the strongest congressional 
        opposition; and
            (3) the President should unequivocally assert United States 
        opposition to the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian 
        State, making clear that such a declaration would be a grievous 
        violation of the Oslo accords and that a declared state would 
        not be recognized by the United States.
                                 <all>
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