I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1175

To locate and secure the return of Zachary Baumel, an American citizen,

and other Israeli soldiers missing in action.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 18, 1999

Mr. LANTOS (for himself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. ABERCROMBIE,

Mr. ACKERMAN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. BURTON

of Indiana, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr.

DIAZ-BALART, Mr. DIXON, Mr. DREIER, Mr. ENGEL, Mr.

FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. FORBES, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts,

Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr. FROST, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. GREEN of

Texas, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr.

HOLDEN, Mr. HORN, Mr. HOYER, Mrs. KELLY, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr.

LAZIO, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mrs.

LOWEY, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. MASCARA, Mrs. MCCARTHY

of New York, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. MEEHAN, Mrs. MEEK

of Florida, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MOORE, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. NADLER,

Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PITTS, Mr. PORTER, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. RODRIGUEZ,

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. SALMON, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr.

SHERMAN, Mr. SHOWS, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. STUMP, Mr.

SWEENEY, Mr. TALENT, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi,

Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. WEINER, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania,

Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. BRYANT, Mr. HINCHEY, and Mr. ROTHMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

A BILL

To locate and secure the return of Zachary Baumel, an

American citizen, and other Israeli soldiers missing in action.
2

HR 1175 IH

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 The Congress finds that—

5 (a) Zachary Baumel, an American citizen serv6 ing in the Israeli military forces, has been missing

7 in action since June 1982 when he was captured by

8 forces affiliated with the Palestinian Liberation Or9 ganization (PLO) following a tank battle with Syr10 ian forces at Sultan Ya’akub in Lebanon;

11 (b) Yehuda Katz and Zvi Feldman, Israeli citi12 zens serving in the Israeli military forces, have been

13 missing in action since June 1982 when they were

14 also captured by these same forces in a tank battle

15 with Syrian forces at Sultan Ya’akub in Lebanon;

16 (c) these three soldiers were last known to be

17 in the hands of a Palestinian faction splintered from

18 the PLO and operating in Syrian-controlled terri19 tory, thus making this a matter within the responsi20 bility of the Government of Syria;

21 (d) diplomatic efforts to secure their release

22 have been unsuccessful, although PLO Chairman

23 Yasser Arafat delivered one-half of Zachary

24 Baumel’s dog tag to Israeli Government authorities;

25 and
3

HR 1175 IH

1 (e) in the Gaza-Jericho agreement between the

2 Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel

3 of May 4, 1994, Palestinian officials agreed to co4 operate with Israel in locating and working for the

5 return of Israeli soldiers missing in action.

6 SEC. 2. ACTION BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

7 (a) The Department of State shall raise the matter

8 of Zachary Baumel, Yehuda Katz, and Zvi Feldman on

9 an urgent basis with appropriate government officials of

10 Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, and with other

11 governments in the region and other governments else12 where which in the Department’s view may be helpful in

13 locating and securing the return of these soldiers.

14 (b) Decisions with regard to United States economic

15 and other forms of assistance to Syria, Lebanon, the Pal16 estinian Authority, and other governments in the region

17 and United States policy towards these governments and

18 authorities should take into consideration the willingness

19 of these governments and authorities to assist in locating

20 and securing the return of these soldiers.

21 SEC. 3. REPORT BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

22 (a) Ninety days after the enactment of this legisla23 tion, the Department of State shall deliver a report in

24 writing to the Congress detailing its consultations with

25 governments pursuant to section 2(a) of this Act and
4

HR 1175 IH

1 United States policies affected pursuant to section 2(b)

2 of this Act. This report shall be a public document. The

3 report may include a classified annex.

4 (b) After the initial report to the Congress, the De5 partment of State shall report in writing within 15 days

6 whenever any additional information from any source re7 lating to these individuals arises. Such report shall be a

8 public document. The report may include a classified

9 annex.

10 (c) The reports to the Congress identified in para11 graph (a) and (b) above shall be made to the Committee

12 on International Relations of the House of Representa13 tives and to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the

14 Senate.

Æ