Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States should urge an immediate and unconditional cessation of all terrorist activities and the commencement of a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians; (2) the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) should immediately surrender to Israel for detention and prosecution those Palestinian extremists wanted by Israel for the assassination of Israeli Minister of Tourism Rehavam Zeevi; and (3) Yasser Arafat and the PLO must take immediate and concrete action to publicly condemn all acts of terrorism, confiscate and destroy the infrastructures of terrorism, and end (and urge all Arab nations to end) financial support for terrorism.
Prohibits the Secretary of State (Secretary) and the Attorney General, respectively, from issuing a visa or admitting to the United States any member of the PLO or official of the PA. Permits the President to waive this prohibition in the national security interest of the United States.
Directs the Secretary to prohibit the operation of a PLO or PA office in the United States from carrying out any function other than those carried out prior to the Oslo Accords. Requires the Secretary to impose travel restrictions on the senior official of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine.
Requires the Secretary and the Attorney General to identify and freeze United States assets of the PLO, the PA, and Yasser Arafat.
Requires the President to report to specified congressional committees on PLO terrorist activities.
[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2194 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2194
To hold accountable the Palestine Liberation Organization and the
Palestinian Authority, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 18, 2002
Mr. McConnell (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Collins, Mr. Smith of
Oregon, and Mr. Bennett) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To hold accountable the Palestine Liberation Organization and the
Palestinian Authority, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Arafat Accountability Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), under the
leadership of Chairman Yasser Arafat, has failed to abide by
its promises, enumerated in the Oslo Accords, to commit itself
to ``a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the two
sides'', that ``all outstanding issues relating to permanent
status will be resolved through negotiations'', and that the
PLO ``renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence
and will assume responsibility over all PLO elements and
personnel in order to assure their compliance, prevent
violence, and discipline violators''.
(2) Yasser Arafat failed to exercise his authority and
responsibility to maintain law and order in the West Bank and
Gaza, which has resulted in ongoing acts of terrorism against
Israeli and American civilians in the State of Israel.
(3) Yasser Arafat has failed, through words and deeds, to
offer credible security guarantees to the Palestinian and
Israeli peoples, and has once again violated his commitment to
peace through the recent purchase of 50 tons of offensive
weaponry from Iran.
(4) Yasser Arafat and the forces directly under his control
are responsible for the murder of hundreds of innocent Israelis
and the wounding of thousands more since October 2000.
(5) Yasser Arafat has been directly implicated in funding
and supporting terrorists who have claimed responsibility for
homicide bombings in Israel.
(6) Under the present circumstances, Yasser Arafat's
failure to adequately respond to end the homicide bombings
further complicates the prospects for a resolution of the
conflict in that region.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States continue to urge an immediate and
unconditional cessation of all terrorist activities and the
commencement of a cease-fire;
(2) the Palestine Liberation Organization and the
Palestinian Authority immediately surrender to Israel for
detention and prosecution those Palestinian extremists wanted
by the Government of Israel for assassination of Israeli
Minister of Tourism Rehavam Zeevi;
(3) PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and the Palestine Liberation
Organization take immediate and concrete action to--
(A) publicly condemn all acts of terrorism,
including and especially homicide bombings, which
murdered over 125 Israeli men, women, and children
during the month of March alone, and the injury of
hundreds more;
(B) confiscate and destroy the infrastructures of
terrorism, including weapons, bomb factories, and other
offensive materials;
(C) end all financial support for terrorism; and
(D) urge all Arab nations and individuals to
immediately cease funding for terrorist operations and
payments to the families of terrorists; and
(4) the Congress supports the President's efforts, in
conjunction with Israel, the Arab states, and the international
community, to develop a comprehensive peace in the region, and
encourages continued efforts by all parties.
SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.
(a) Denial of Visas.--
(1) Prohibition.--The Secretary of State shall not issue a
visa to, and the Attorney General shall not admit to the United
States any member of the Palestine Liberation Organization or
any official from the Palestinian Authority.
(2) Waiver.--The President may, on a case-by-case basis,
waive paragraph (1) based on national security considerations.
(b) Downgrading of PLO Representation in the United States.--The
Secretary of State shall undertake such measures as may be necessary to
prohibit the operation of a Palestine Liberation Organization or
Palestinian Authority office in the United States from carrying out any
function other than those carried out by the Palestinian information
office in existence in the United States prior to the Oslo Accords.
(c) Travel Restriction on the Senior PLO Representative at the
United Nations.--The Secretary of State shall impose the same travel
restrictions on the senior official of the Permanent Observer Mission
of Palestine at the United Nations as those imposed on officials with
the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United
Nations.
(d) Seizure of Assets of the PLO and the PA and PLO Chairman Yasser
Arafat.--The Secretary of State, in cooperation with the Attorney
General, shall identify and seize the assets of the Palestine
Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority in the United
States, and the personal assets in the United States of PLO Chairman
Yasser Arafat.
SEC. 5. REPORT ON PLO TERRORIST ACTIVITIES.
(a) Within 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and
every 90 days thereafter, the President shall submit a report to the
appropriate congressional committees detailing acts of terrorism, if
any, committed by the Palestine Liberation Organization or any of its
constituent elements.
(b) The report shall include a determination on whether acts of
terrorism warrant the designation of the PLO or any of its constituent
elements as terrorist organizations, and if so, the President shall so
designate the PLO or any of its constituent elements as terrorist
organizations.
(c) The President may waive the requirements of this section based
on national security considerations.
SEC. 6. DURATION OF SANCTIONS.
The sanctions imposed under this Act shall remain in effect until
such time as the President determines and reports to the appropriate
congressional committees that the conditions that warrant these
sanctions no longer exist.
SEC. 7. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations and the
Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2952-2953)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
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