III

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 146

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 8, 1997

Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the terrorist

bombing in Jerusalem on September 4, 1997.

Whereas on September 4, 1997, three terrorist bombs exploded almost simultaneously on the Ben Yehuda Street

pedestrian mall in Jerusalem, killing at least four innocent people and wounding over 190 others;

Whereas Hamas claimed responsibility for this bombing;

Whereas despite a clear United States call that Palestinian

commitment to fight terror must be constant and abso-
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HCON 146 RFS

lute, PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat convened a national

unity conference on August 20, 1997, in which he embraced leaders of the Hamas and Islamic Holy War

movements;

Whereas in the four years that the Oslo process has been in

effect, it is clear that the leaders of the Palestinian Authority have yet to implement in any sustained manner

the specific pledges they made in numerous agreements

to: (1) prevent incitement and hostile propaganda; (2)

combat terrorist organizations and their infrastructure

systematically and effectively; (3) apprehend and punish

terrorists; and (4) confiscate illegal firearms: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress—

3 (1) expresses its outrage at this latest attack on

4 civilian Israelis, extends the deepest sympathies of

5 the Congress and the American people to the fami6 lies of the victims and to the people and government

7 of Israel at this tragic loss of innocent human life,

8 and expresses the commitment of the American peo9 ple to remain dedicated to Israel’s security in the

10 face of this brutal and heinous act of terrorism;

11 (2) demands that Chairman Arafat and the

12 Palestinian Authority systematically and comprehen13 sively eliminate the terrorist infrastructure and com14 bat terrorist activities of members of all terror

15 groups operating in areas under its control, and ful-
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1 fill the commitments the PLO made to Israel, the

2 United States, and the world;

3 (3) informs PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and

4 the leaders of the Palestinian Authority in the

5 strongest possible terms that choices must now be

6 made: either they do what they solemnly pledged to

7 do as part of the Oslo process to fight terror and the

8 terrorist infrastructure in a consistent, serious and

9 sustained manner, or the entire peace process, rela10 tions with America, and the hopes of the Palestinian

11 people for a better future will be seriously jeopard12 ized;

13 (4) urges Secretary of State Madeleine Albright

14 to underscore to the Palestinians one distinct mes15 sage: the Palestinian Authority must fulfill its most

16 important single obligation of fighting terrorism re17 lentlessly with all the means at its disposal; and

18 (5) believes that all United States assistance to

19 the Palestinian Authority, whether direct or indirect,

20 should be suspended until such time as substantive

21 compliance with its commitments under the Oslo

22 agreements is achieved.

Passed the House of Representatives September 5,

1997.

Attest: ROBIN H. CARLE,

Clerk.