II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1944

To enhance peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 24, 2003

Mr. ENSIGN (for himself, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. 

GRAHAM of South Carolina, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. REID, Mr. BAYH, Mr. EDWARDS, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. SMITH, Mr. ALLEN, and Mrs. BOXER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL

To enhance peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Israeli-Palestinian 

5 Peace Enhancement Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The security of the State of Israel is a 

9 major and enduring national security interest of the 

10 United States. 
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1 (2) A lasting peace in the Middle East region, 

2 which Israel desperately seeks, can only take root in 

3 an atmosphere free of violence and terrorism. 

4 (3) The Palestinian people have been ill-served 

5 by leaders who, by resorting to violence and ter6 rorism to pursue their political objectives, have 

7 brought economic and personal hardship to their 

8 people and brought a halt to efforts seeking a nego9 tiated settlement of the conflict. 

10 (4) The United States has an interest in a Mid11 dle East in which two states, Israel and Palestine, 

12 will live side by side in peace and security. 

13 (5) In his speech of June 24, 2002, and in 

14 other statements, President George W. Bush out15 lined a comprehensive vision of the possibilities of 

16 peace in the Middle East region following a change 

17 in Palestinian leadership. 

18 (6) President Bush stated in his June 24, 

19 2002, speech that ‘‘a stable and peaceful Palestinian 

20 state is necessary to achieve the security that Israel 

21 longs for,’’ and Israel has committed itself to con22 crete steps to achieve that end. 

23 (7) The Palestinian state must be a reformed, 

24 peaceful, and democratic state that abandons forever 

25 the use of terror. 
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1 (8) Israel has repeatedly indicated its willing2 ness to make painful concessions to achieve peace 

3 once there is a partner for peace on the Palestinian 

4 side. 

5 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

6 The purposes of this Act are—

7 (1) to express the sense of Congress with re8 spect to United States recognition of a Palestinian 

9 state; 

10 (2) to encourage the emergence of a Palestinian 

11 leadership that is capable of achieving the reforms 

12 outlined by President Bush, including making peace 

13 with Israel, combating all forms of terrorism, and 

14 developing a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state; 

15 and 

16 (3) to demonstrate United States willingness to 

17 provide substantial economic and humanitarian as18 sistance, and to support large-scale multilateral as19 sistance, to a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state, 

20 after the Palestinians have achieved the reforms out21 lined by President Bush and have achieved peace 

22 with Israel. 

23 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

24 It is the sense of Congress that—
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1 (1) peace between Israel and the Palestinians 

2 cannot be achieved until the Palestinian system of 

3 government has been transformed along the lines 

4 outlined in President Bush’s June 24, 2002, speech; 

5 (2) substantial United States and international 

6 economic assistance will be needed after the Pal7 estinians have achieved the reforms described in sec8 tion 620K(c)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

9 1961 (as added by section 6 of this Act) and have 

10 made a lasting and secure peace with Israel; 

11 (3) any new Palestinian administration urgently 

12 should take the necessary security-related steps to 

13 allow for implementation of a performance-based 

14 road map to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; 

15 (4) the United States Administration should 

16 work vigorously toward the goal of two states living 

17 side-by-side in peace within secure and internation18 ally-recognized boundaries free from threats or acts 

19 of force; and 

20 (5) the United States has a vital national secu21 rity interest in a permanent, comprehensive, and 

22 just resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and par23 ticularly the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, based on the

24 terms of United Nations Security Council Resolu25 tions 242 and 338. 
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1 terms of United Nations Security Council Resolu2 tions 242 and 338. 

3 SEC. 5. RECOGNITION OF A PALESTINIAN STATE. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that a Palestinian state 

5 should not be recognized by the United States until the 

6 President determines that—

7 (1) a new leadership of a Palestinian governing 

8 entity, not compromised by terrorism, has been 

9 elected and taken office; and 

10 (2) the newly-elected Palestinian governing enti11 ty—

12 (A) has demonstrated a firm and tangible 

13 commitment to peaceful coexistence with the 

14 State of Israel and to ending anti-Israel incite15 ment, including the cessation of all officially 

16 sanctioned or funded anti-Israel incitement; 

17 (B) has taken sustained and effective 

18 measures to counter terrorism and terrorist fi19 nancing in the West Bank and Gaza, including 

20 the dismantling of the terrorist infrastructure 

21 and the confiscation of unlawful weaponry; 

22 (C) has established one unified Palestinian 

23 security entity that is fully cooperating with the 

24 appropriate Israeli security organizations; 
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1 (D) has achieved exclusive authority and 

2 responsibility for governing the national affairs 

3 of a Palestinian state, has taken effective steps 

4 to ensure democracy, the rule of law, and an 

5 independent judiciary, and has adopted other 

6 reforms ensuring transparent and accountable 

7 governance; and 

8 (E) has taken effective steps to ensure that 

9 its education and communications systems pro10 mote the acceptance of Israel’s existence and of 

11 peace with Israel and actively discourage anti12 Israel incitement. 

13 SEC. 6. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE TO A PALESTINIAN 

14 STATE. 

15 Chapter 1 of part III of the Foreign Assistance Act 

16 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2351 et seq.) is amended—

17 (1) by redesignating the second section 620G 

18 (as added by section 149 of Public Law 104–164 

19 (110 Stat. 1436)) as section 620J; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following new sec21 tion: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 620K. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE TO A PALES23 TINIAN STATE. 

24 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

2 provision of law, direct assistance may be provided 

3 under this Act or any other provision of law to the 

4 government of a Palestinian state only during a pe5 riod for which a certification described in subsection 

6 (c) is in effect. The limitation contained in the pre7 ceding sentence shall not apply (A) to humanitarian 

8 or development assistance that is provided through 

9 nongovernmental organizations for the benefit of the 

10 Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza, or 

11 (B) to assistance that is intended to reform the Pal12 estinian Authority and affiliated institutions, or a 

13 newly elected Palestinian governing entity, in order 

14 to help meet the requirements contained in subpara15 graphs (A) through (H) of subsection (c)(2) or to 

16 address the matters described in subparagraphs (A) 

17 through (E) of section 5(2) of the Israeli-Palestinian 

18 Peace Enhancement Act of 2003. 

19 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The President may waive the 

20 limitation of the first sentence of paragraph (1) if 

21 the President determines and certifies to the Com22 mittee on International Relations and the Committee 

23 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 

24 and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 

25 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate that it 
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1 is vital to the national security interest of the United 

2 States to do so. 

3 ‘‘(b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Assistance made available 

5 under this Act or any other provision of law to a 

6 Palestinian state may not be provided until 15 days 

7 after the date on which the President has provided 

8 notice thereof to the Committee on International Re9 lations and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

10 House of Representatives and to the Committee on 

11 Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropria12 tions of the Senate in accordance with the proce13 dures applicable to reprogramming notifications 

14 under section 634A(a) of this Act. 

15 ‘‘(2) SUNSET.—Paragraph (1) shall cease to be 

16 effective beginning ten years after the date on which 

17 notice is first provided under such paragraph. 

18 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION.—A certification described in 

19 this subsection is a certification transmitted by the Presi20 dent to Congress that—

21 ‘‘(1) a Palestinian state exists and has been 

22 recognized by the United States and Israel and ad23 mitted to the United Nations; 
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1 ‘‘(2) a binding international peace agreement 

2 exists between Israel and the Palestinian state 

3 that—

4 ‘‘(A) was freely signed by both parties; 

5 ‘‘(B) guarantees both parties’ commitment 

6 to a mutually agreed border between two states 

7 that constitutes a secure and internationally 

8 recognized boundary for both states, with no re9 maining territorial claims; 

10 ‘‘(C) provides a permanent resolution for 

11 both Palestinian refugees and Jewish refugees 

12 from Arab countries; 

13 ‘‘(D) provides for mutually agreeable ar14 rangements on all remaining permanent status 

15 issues, including borders, settlements, water re16 sources, and Jerusalem; and 

17 ‘‘(E) includes a renunciation of all remain18 ing claims through provisions that commit both 

19 sides to the end of the conflict; and 

20 ‘‘(3) the new Palestinian government—

21 ‘‘(A) has been democratically elected 

22 through free and fair elections, has exclusive 

23 authority and responsibility for governing the 

24 national affairs of the Palestinian state, and
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1 has achieved the reforms outlined by President 

2 Bush in his June 24, 2002, speech; 

3 ‘‘(B) has completely renounced the use of 

4 violence against the State of Israel and its citi5 zens, is vigorously attempting to prevent any 

6 acts of terrorism against Israel and its citizens, 

7 and punishes the perpetrators of such acts in a 

8 manner commensurate with their actions; 

9 ‘‘(C) has dismantled, and terminated the 

10 funding of, any group within its territory that 

11 conducts terrorism against Israel; 

12 ‘‘(D) is engaging in ongoing and extensive 

13 security cooperation with the State of Israel; 

14 ‘‘(E) refrains from any officially sanctioned 

15 or funded statement or act designed to incite 

16 Palestinians or others against the State of 

17 Israel and its citizens; 

18 ‘‘(F) has an elected leadership not com19 promised by terror; 

20 ‘‘(G) has instituted clearly defined and 

21 agreed upon limits on its military; and 

22 ‘‘(H) has no alliances or agreements that 

23 pose a threat to the security of the State of 

24 Israel. 
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1 ‘‘(d) RECERTIFICATIONS.—Not later than 90 days 

2 after the date on which the President transmits to Con3 gress an initial certification under subsection (c), and 

4 every 6 months thereafter for the 10-year period beginning 

5 on the date of transmittal of such certification—

6 ‘‘(1) the President shall transmit to Congress a 

7 recertification that the requirements contained in 

8 subsection (c) are continuing to be met; or

9 ‘‘(2) if the President is unable to make such a 

10 recertification, the President shall transmit to Con11 gress a report that contains the reasons therefor. 

12 ‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—A certification 

13 under subsection (c) shall be deemed to be in effect begin14 ning on the day after the last day of the 10-year period 

15 described in subsection (d) unless the President subse16 quently determines that the requirements contained in 

17 subsection (c) are no longer being met and the President 

18 transmits to Congress a report that contains the reasons 

19 therefor.’’. 

20 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE TO A PALES21 TINIAN STATE. 

22 Chapter 1 of part III of the Foreign Assistance Act 

23 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2351 et seq.), as amended by section 

24 1506, is further amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing new section: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 620L. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE TO A PALES2 TINIAN STATE. 

3 ‘‘(a) ASSISTANCE.—The President is authorized to 

4 provide assistance to a Palestinian state in accordance 

5 with the requirements of this section. 

6 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES TO BE SUPPORTED.—Assistance 

7 provided under subsection (a) shall be used to support ac8 tivities within a Palestinian state to substantially improve 

9 the economy and living conditions of the Palestinians by, 

10 among other things, providing for economic development 

11 in the West Bank and Gaza, continuing to promote democ12 racy and the rule of law, developing water resources, as13 sisting in security cooperation between Israelis and Pal14 estinians, and helping with the compensation and rehabili15 tation of Palestinian refugees. 

16 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the 

17 amounts made available to carry out chapter 4 of part 

18 II of this Act for a fiscal year, there are authorized to 

19 be appropriated to the President to carry out subsections 

20 (a) and (b) such sums as may be necessary for each such 

21 fiscal year. 

22 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION OF INTERNATIONAL ASSIST23 ANCE.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date on 

25 which the President transmits to Congress an initial 
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1 certification under section 620K(c), the Secretary of 

2 State shall—

3 ‘‘(A) seek to convene one or more donors 

4 conferences to gain commitments from other 

5 countries, multilateral institutions, and non6 governmental organizations to provide economic 

7 assistance to Palestinians; 

8 ‘‘(B) seek to ensure that such commit9 ments to provide assistance are honored in a 

10 timely manner; 

11 ‘‘(C) promote coordination of assistance 

12 among the United States and such other coun13 tries, multilateral institutions, and nongovern14 mental organizations; 

15 ‘‘(D) monitor the assistance to ensure that 

16 the assistance provided to Palestinians is used 

17 for the purposes for which it was provided; and 

18 ‘‘(E) seek to ensure that other countries, 

19 multilateral institutions, and nongovernmental 

20 organizations do not provide assistance to Pal21 estinians through entities that are designated 

22 as terrorist organizations under United States 

23 law. 

24 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 180 

25 days after the date of the enactment of this section, 
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1 and on an annual basis thereafter, the Secretary of 

2 State shall prepare and submit to the Committee on 

3 International Relations and the Committee on Ap4 propriations of the House of Representatives and the 

5 Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee 

6 on Appropriations of the Senate a report that de7 scribes the activities undertaken to meet the require8 ments of paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(3) BURDENSHARING.—Each report under 

10 paragraph (2) shall include a description of the 

11 amounts committed, and the amounts provided, to a 

12 Palestinian state or Palestinians during the report13 ing period by each country and organization.’’.

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