(1) The Palestine Liberation Organization 
(PLO) Mission office, representing the PLO, and by 
extension, the Palestinian Authority, in Washington, 
DC, was opened in 1994 in order to implement the 
Oslo Accords, which initiated direct negotiations be-
tween the PLO and the Government of Israel. 
(2) Section 1003 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 
1987 (Public Law 100–204; 22 U.S.C. 5202), 
makes it unlawful to ‘‘establish or maintain an of-
fice, headquarters, premises, or other facilities or es-
tablishments within the jurisdiction of the United 
States at the behest or direction of, or with funds 
provided by the Palestine Liberation Organization or 
any of its constituent groups, any successor to any 
of those, or any agents thereof’’. 
(3) Using various authorities, the executive 
branch has waived the provisions of section 1003 of 
the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987. 
(4) Article XXXI, clause 7, of the Israeli-Pales-
tinian Interim Agreement on the Status of the West 
Bank and the Gaza Strip (September 28, 1995) 
states that ‘‘Neither side shall initiate or take any 
step that will change the status of the West Bank 
and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the per-
manent status negotiations’’. 
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(5) In January 2009, the PLO sent a declara-
tion to the International Criminal Court under Arti-
cle 12(3) of the Rome Statute of the International 
Criminal Court on behalf of the Palestinian Author-
ity. 
(6) On October 31, 2011, the United Nations 
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 
(UNESCO) voted to admit the ‘‘State of Palestine’’ 
as its 195th full member. Since being admitted, the 
Palestinians have used UNESCO to pass anti-Israel 
rulings, including a recent proposal to have the 
Western Wall classified as part of the Aqsa com-
pound. 
(7) On November 29, 2012, the United Nations 
General Assembly voted to accord the ‘‘State of Pal-
estine’’ status as a nonmember observer State at the 
United Nations. 
(8) On April 2, 2014, the PLO joined the Gene-
va Conventions as well as 13 other organizations. 
(9) On January 2, 2015, the PLO acceded to 
the Rome Statute, and on January 16, 2015, the 
Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court 
opened a ‘‘preliminary examination of the situation 
in Palestine’’ after accepting jurisdiction of the 
International Criminal Court ‘‘over alleged crimes 
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committed ‘in the occupied Palestinian territory, in-
cluding East Jerusalem, since June 13, 2014’’. 
(10) The PLO’s decision to accede to the Rome 
Statute as well as several international organizations 
is an attempt to change the status of the West Bank 
and the Gaza Strip outside of direct negotiations be-
tween the Israelis and Palestinians. 
(11) On January 7, 2015, the Department of 
State’s Office of the Spokesperson stated, ‘‘we have 
made clear our opposition to Palestinian action in 
seeking to join the Rome Statute of the Inter-
national Criminal Court. This step is counter-pro-
ductive, will damage the atmosphere with the very 
people with whom Palestinians ultimately need to 
make peace, and will do nothing to further the aspi-
rations of the Palestinian people for a sovereign and 
independent state.’’. 
(12) On February 23, 2015, a jury in a New 
York Federal court found the PLO and the Pales-
tinian Authority liable for six terrorist attacks in 
Israel between 2002 and 2004 that killed 33 people 
and injured more than 450 others, including United 
States citizens among the victims. 
(13) The Federal jury ordered the PLO and the 
Palestinian Authority, both of which are headed by 
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Mahmoud Abbas, to pay $218,500,000 in repara-
tions to the victims and their families of these terror 
acts. 
(14) On April 1, 2015, the ‘‘State of Palestine’’ 
officially became a member of the International 
Criminal Court. 
(15) The PLO continues to reward terrorists 
and their families who commit terrorist attacks, pro-
viding a higher reward to those with longer jail sen-
tences. 
(16) The PLO continues to refuse to disclose 
all of its financial assets, including the multi-billion 
dollar Palestinian National Fund (PNF) belonging 
to Mahmoud Abbas. The Fund is estimated to have 
tens of billions of dollars, though its exact amount 
is unknown. It is allegedly used by Abbas to fund ev-
erything from his international campaign against 
Israel to compensation to the families of Palestinian 
terrorists. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the Palestine Liberation Organization 
(PLO) has failed to live up to its commitment to a 
bilateral peace process with Israel, renounce vio-
lence, accept Israel’s right to exist, honor previous 
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diplomatic agreements made by the Palestinians, 
and continues to circumvent a negotiated settlement 
with Israel by seeking unilateral statehood at the 
United Nations and from other countries, and con-
tinues to actively endorse terror; 
(2) Mahmoud Abbas has purposefully blurred 
the lines between the PLO and the Palestinian Au-
thority in order to avoid responsibility for violating 
previous agreements with Israel while continuing to 
receive United States aid; 
(3) the Palestinian initiation of an International 
Criminal Court investigation, or active support for 
such an investigation, that subjects Israeli nationals 
to an investigation for alleged crimes against Pal-
estinians, would violate the Palestinians’ commit-
ment to not change the status of the West Bank and 
Gaza Strip; 
(4) only a solution negotiated directly between 
the Israelis and Palestinians can result in a lasting 
peace, and the Palestinians should not turn to out-
side parties, including international organizations, to 
impose or otherwise influence a solution between the 
parties; 
(5) if the Palestinian Authority or any rep-
resentation thereof initiates or supports an inves-
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