II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 676

To locate and secure the return of Zachary Baumel, a citizen of the United

States, and other Israeli soldiers missing in action.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 22, 1999

Mr. CAMPBELL (for himself, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire, Mr.

KERRY, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. COVERDELL, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. ASHCROFT, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. SCHUMER,

Mr. ALLARD, and Mr. SANTORUM) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

A BILL

To locate and secure the return of Zachary Baumel, a citizen

of the United States, and other Israeli soldiers missing

in action.

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

3 SECTION 1. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

4 Congress makes the following findings:

5 (1) Zachary Baumel, a citizen of the United

6 States serving in the Israeli military forces, has been

7 missing in action since June 1982 when he was cap8 tured by forces affiliated with the Palestinian Lib-
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1 eration Organization (PLO) following a tank battle

2 with Syrian forces at Sultan Ya’akub in Lebanon.

3 (2) Yehuda Katz and Zvi Feldman, Israeli citi4 zens serving in the Israeli military forces, have been

5 missing in action since June 1982 when they were

6 also captured by these same forces in a tank battle

7 with Syrian forces at Sultan Ya’akub in Lebanon.

8 (3) These three soldiers were last known to be

9 in the hands of a Palestinian faction splintered from

10 the PLO and operating in Syrian-controlled terri11 tory, thus making this a matter within the responsi12 bility of the Government of Syria.

13 (4) Diplomatic efforts to secure their release

14 have been unsuccessful, although PLO Chairman

15 Yasir Arafat delivered one-half of Zachary Baumel’s

16 dog tag to Israeli government authorities.

17 (5) In the Gaza-Jericho agreement between the

18 Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel

19 of May 4, 1994, Palestinian officials agreed to co20 operate with Israel in locating and working for the

21 return of Israeli soldiers missing in action.

22 SEC. 2. ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

23 (a) RESPONSIBILITY OF SECRETARY OF STATE.—

24 The Secretary of State shall raise the matter of Zachary

25 Baumel, Yehuda Katz, and Zvi Feldman on an urgent
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1 basis with appropriate government officials of Syria, Leb2 anon, the Palestinian Authority, and with other govern3 ments in the region and other governments elsewhere

4 which in the Secretary’s view may be helpful in locating

5 and securing the return of these soldiers.

6 (b) COOPERATION AS A FACTOR IN DETERMINA7 TIONS OF ASSISTANCE.—Decisions with regard to United

8 States economic and other forms of assistance to Syria,

9 Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, and other govern10 ments in the region, and United States policy towards

11 these governments and authorities, should take into con12 sideration the willingness of these governments and au13 thorities to assist in locating and securing the return of

14 these soldiers.

15 SEC. 3. REPORTS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

16 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Ninety days after the date of

17 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit

18 a report in writing to Congress detailing the Secretary’s

19 consultations with governments pursuant to section 2(a)

20 and the changes in United States policies made pursuant

21 to section 2(b). The report shall be a public document and

22 may include a classified annex.

23 (b) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—After the initial report

24 to Congress, the Secretary of State shall submit a report

25 in writing to Congress within 15 days whenever any addi-
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1 tional information from any source relating to these indi2 viduals arises. The report shall be a public document and

3 may include a classified annex.

4 (c) CONGRESSIONAL RECIPIENTS OF REPORTS.—The

5 reports to Congress identified in subsections (a) and (b)

6 shall be made to the Committee on International Relations

7 of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on

8 Foreign Relations of the Senate.

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