H. Res. 392
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
May 2, 2002.
Whereas the United States and Israel are now engaged in a
common struggle against terrorism and are on the front-
lines of a conflict thrust upon them against their will;
Whereas hundreds of innocent Israelis and Palestinians have
died tragically in violence since September 2000;
Whereas Palestinian organizations are engaging in an orga-
nized, systematic, and deliberate campaign of terror
aimed at inflicting as many casualties as possible on the
Israeli population, including through the use of suicide
terrorist attacks;
Whereas the number of Israelis killed during that time by
suicide terrorist attacks alone, on a basis proportional to
the United States population, is approximately 9,000,
three times the number killed in the terrorist attacks on
New York and Washington on September 11, 2001;
Whereas Yasir Arafat and members of the Palestinian leader-
ship have failed to abide by their commitments to non-
violence made in the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles
(the ‘‘Oslo accord’’) of September 1993, including their
pledges (1) to adhere strictly to ‘‘a peaceful resolution of
the conflict,’’ (2) to resolve ‘‘all outstanding issues relat-
ing to permanent status through negotiations,’’ (3) to re-
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nounce ‘‘the use of terrorism and other acts of violence,’’
and (4) to ‘‘assume responsibility over all PLO elements
and personnel in order to assure their compliance [with
the commitment to nonviolence], prevent violence, and
discipline violators’’;
Whereas the continued terrorism and incitement committed
and supported by official arms of the Palestinian Author-
ity are a direct violation of these commitments;
Whereas the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is part of Ara-
fat’s Fatah organization and has been designated a ‘‘For-
eign Terrorist Organization’’ by the United States Gov-
ernment, and other Fatah forces have murdered scores of
innocent Israelis;
Whereas forces under Yasir Arafat’s direct control were in-
volved in the Palestinian Authority’s thwarted attempt to
obtain 50 tons of offensive weapons shipped from Iran in
the Karine-A, an effort that irrefutably proved Arafat’s
embrace of the use and escalation of violence;
Whereas the Israeli Government has documents found in the
offices of the Palestinian Authority that demonstrate the
crucial financial support the Palestinian Authority con-
tinues to provide for terrorist acts, including suicide
bombers;
Whereas the recent escalation of Palestinian attacks, killing
46 Israelis during the week of Passover, included a hei-
nous suicide-bombing at a religious ceremony which killed
27 and wounded more than a hundred, many critically,
and was perpetrated by a known terrorist whom Israel
had previously asked Yasir Arafat to arrest;
Whereas this suicide attack occurred at the very time United
States envoy General Anthony Zinni was attempting to
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negotiate a cease-fire that would lead to the resumption
of Israeli-Palestinians political negotiations;
Whereas, just before the Passover attack, Israel had agreed
to General Zinni’s cease-fire proposals, whereas Yasir
Arafat rejected them;
Whereas Yasir Arafat continues to incite terror by, for exam-
ple, saying of the Passover suicide bomber, ‘‘Oh God,
give me a martyrdom like this’’;
Whereas Yasir Arafat and the PLO have a long history of
making and breaking anti-terrorism pledges;
Whereas President George W. Bush declared at a joint ses-
sion of Congress on September 20, 2001, that ‘‘[f]rom
this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or
support terrorism will be regarded by the United States
as a hostile regime’’;
Whereas President Bush recently stated that he ‘‘fully under-
stands Israel’s need to defend herself’’ and that he ‘‘re-
spect(s)’’ the fact that Israelis have ‘‘seen a wave of sui-
cide bombers coming to the heart of their cities and kill-
ing innocent people’’;
Whereas President Bush, in his speech of April 4, 2002, stat-
ed that ‘‘the situation in which he [Arafat] finds himself
today is largely of his own making’’; that Arafat ‘‘missed
his opportunities, and thereby betrayed the hopes of the
people he’s supposed to lead’’; and that, ‘‘[g]iven his
[Arafat’s] failure, the Israeli Government feels it must
strike at terrorist networks that are killing its citizens’’;
Whereas Israel’s military operations are an effort to defend
itself against the unspeakable horrors of ongoing ter-
rorism and are aimed only at dismantling the terrorist in-
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frastructure in the Palestinian areas, an obligation
Arafat himself undertook but failed to carry out; and
Whereas the process of Israeli withdrawal is nearly complete:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) stands in solidarity with Israel as it takes nec-
essary steps to provide security to its people by disman-
tling the terrorist infrastructure in the Palestinian areas;
(2) remains committed to Israel’s right to self-de-
fense and supports additional United States assistance
to help Israel defend itself;
(3) condemns the recent wave of Palestinian suicide
bombings;
(4) condemns the ongoing support of terror by
Yasir Arafat and other members of the Palestinian lead-
ership;
(5) demands that the Palestinian Authority at last
fulfill its commitment to dismantle the terrorist infra-
structure in the Palestinian areas, including any such in-
frastructure associated with PLO and Palestinian Au-
thority entities tied directly to Yasir Arafat;
(6) is gravely concerned that Arafat’s actions are
not those of a viable partner for peace;
(7) urges all Arab states to declare their unqualified
opposition to all forms of terrorism, including suicide
bombing;
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(8) commends the President for his leadership in
addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly
the efforts of the Administration to engage countries
throughout the region to condemn and prevent terrorism
and to prevent a widening of the conflict;
(9) urges all parties in the region to pursue vigor-
ously efforts to establish a just, lasting, and comprehen-
sive peace in the Middle East; and
(10) encourages the international community to
take action to alleviate the humanitarian needs of the
Palestinian people.
Attest:
Clerk.