III
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 149
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 13, 1996
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Condemning terror attacks in Israel.
Whereas, on February 25, 1996, two vicious terror attacks in
Jerusalem and Ashkelon killed two American citizens and
25 Israelis, and wounded over 75 more;
Whereas, on February 26, 1996, an Israeli citizen was killed
and 22 Israelis were injured when a terrorist drove a
rental car into a Jerusalem bus stop;
HCON 149 RFS
Whereas, on March 3, 1996, a suicide bus bombing in Jeru-
salem took the lives of 18 innocent Israelis and other in-
dividuals and injured 10 more;
Whereas, on March 4, 1996, yet another heinous explosion by
a suicide bomber in Tel Aviv murdered at least 13 and
wounded 130 more;
Whereas, the Gaza-based Hamas terror group claimed re-
sponsibility for the most recent bombings, and the Da-
mascus-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror groups have
claimed responsibility for the majority of terror attacks
since the signing of the Declaration of Principles;
Whereas, these successive incidents represent an unprece-
dented escalation by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic
Jihad of their terrorist campaign designed to cause maxi-
mum carnage against the peaceful civilian population of
Israel, including children, women, and the elderly;
Whereas, these terrorist attacks are aimed not only at inno-
cent Israeli civilians but also at destroying the Middle
East peace process;
Whereas, since the signing of the Declaration of Principles
between Israel and the PLO on September 13, 1993,
nearly 200 people, including 5 American citizens, have
been killed in terrorist acts;
Whereas, the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Palestin-
ian Authority and Yasser Arafat have been ineffective
and unsuccessful in completely rooting out the vicious
terrorist elements from Palestinian controlled areas, call-
ing into question their commitment to the peace process;
Whereas, the vast majority of Palestinian terror suspects
have not been apprehended, or if apprehended, not tried
HCON 149 RFS
or punished, and no terror suspects requested for trans-
fer have been transferred to Israeli authorities by Pal-
estinian authorities in direct contravention of agreements
signed between the PLO and Israel;
Whereas, the Palestinian Authority must now do much more
systematically to end the threat posed by terrorist groups
and take other steps consistent with the Israel-Palestin-
ian Interim Agreement, including the apprehension, trial,
and punishment of those who conduct terrorist acts and
implementation of procedures agreed upon with Israel to
transfer suspected terrorists;
Whereas, the hateful language calling for Israel’s destruction,
that remains an integral part of the Palestinian National
Covenant only serves to incite those opposed to the peace
process;
Whereas, the Palestinian National Covenant has not yet been
amended, despite commitments by the PLO to do so;
Whereas these failures undermine and threaten the peace
process as well as continued United States financial as-
sistance;
Whereas, the Government of Iran continues to provide safe
haven, financial support, and arms to terror groups such
as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, or Hizbollah among others,
and has in no way acted to restrain these groups from
committing acts of terrorism;
Whereas, notwithstanding Syria’s participation in a serious
negotiating process to reach a peace agreement with Is-
rael, Syria continues to provide a safe haven for terrorist
groups opposed to the peace process, permits the arming
of Hizbollah in Lebanon, and has not acted to prevent
these groups from committing acts of terrorism;
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Whereas, failure to act against terrorists by the Palestinian
Authority, Iran, Syria and others only undermines the
credibility of the peace process: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress—
(1) condemns and reviles in the strongest terms
the attacks in Jerusalem, Ashkelon, and Tel Aviv;
(2) extends condolences to the families of all
those killed, and to the Government and all the peo-
ple of the State of Israel;
(3) expresses its support and solidarity with the
people and Government of the State of Israel;
(4) reaffirms its full support for Israel in its ef-
forts to combat terrorism as it attempts to pursue
peace with its neighbors in the region;
(5) calls upon the Palestinian Authority, the
elected Palestinian Council and Chairman Arafat to
act swiftly and decisively to apprehend and effec-
tively punish the perpetrators of terror attacks, to
prevent such acts of terror in the future, to con-
fiscate all unauthorized weapons and to avoid and
condemn all statements and gestures which signal
tolerance for such acts and their perpetrators;
(6) calls upon Chairman Arafat, the Palestinian
Authority and the elected representatives of the Pal-
estinian Council to eliminate the terrorist structure
HCON 149 RFS
and terrorist activities of Hamas, Palestinian Is-
lamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine, and all other terror groups;
(7) calls upon Chairman Arafat, the Palestinian
Authority and the elected representatives of the Pal-
estinian Council to adopt legislative and executive
measures to ban the existence and operations of all
terrorist organizations resident in the Palestinian
autonomous areas;
(8) insists that Chairman Arafat convene the
Palestinian National Council, so that the Palestinian
National Covenant will be amended of its vile ref-
erences to Israel within sixty days of the Palestinian
Council’s inauguration on March 7, 1996;
(9) reaffirms its belief that the Palestinian Na-
tional Covenant must be amended in order for the
peace process to succeed;
(10) calls upon the Palestinian people to sup-
port the deletion of anti-Israel language from the
Palestinian National Covenant;
(11) calls upon the Palestinian people to ex-
press their revulsion for terrorism against Israel,
and condemn and isolate those elements of Palestin-
ian society that employ and support such terrorist
acts;
HCON 149 RFS
(12) urges all parties to the peace process, in
order to retain the credibility of their commitment to
peace, to bring to justice the perpetrators of acts of
terrorism, and to cease harboring, financing, and
arming terror groups in all territories under their
control;
(13) calls upon those Arab states that have
failed to condemn these acts of terrorism to do so
immediately and forthrightly, and to support all ef-
forts in the region to combat terrorism;
(14) calls upon the international community to
cooperate with the United States in isolating states
which engage in international terrorism;
(15) insists that Iran and Syria cease all sup-
port for all terrorist groups operating in areas under
their control and refrain from all activities in opposi-
tion to the Middle East peace process;
(16) expresses its intent to reconsider United
States assistance to the Palestinian Authority, in
consultation with the Administration, in light of the
steps that must be taken by the Palestinian Author-
ity against terrorist infrastructures and operations;
(17) urges the United States to act decisively
and swiftly against those governments who continue
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to harbor, arm, or finance terror groups seeking to
undermine the peace process; and
(18) praises United States efforts to provide Is-
rael with all appropriate anti-terrorism resources to
eliminate the tide of terrorist incidents against Is-
rael.
Passed the House of Representatives March 12,
1996.
Attest:
ROBIN H. CARLE,
Clerk.