Congress may 'publicly condemn' Arafat

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Congress may 'publicly condemn' Arafat

Thursday, 12 October 2000 16:23 (ET)

Congress may 'publicly condemn' Arafat By MARK BENJAMIN

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, (UPI) - In the midst of rapidly escalating violence in the Middle East, Congress may formally condemn Palestine Authority President Yasser Arafat and express "solidarity" with Israel.

The House is considering a bipartisan resolution drafted by the House International Relations Committee that would put Congress on record firmly on the Israeli side in the crisis there.

The move comes as violence in the Middle East is escalating at a frightening pace and threatening to spiral out of control. Israel launched air strikes into Ramallah Thursday after a Palestinian mob burst into a police station and beat to death two captured Israeli soldiers. Israel reportedly shelled Arafat's personal compound in Gaza Thursday as the violence continued to spread.

Over 100 people have died in the street battles so far, the great majority of them Palestinians.

House International Relations leaders from both parties have drafted a harsh resolution condemning Arafat and the Palestinian leadership, calling on the U.S. to defend Israel at the United Nations and placing America's support squarely behind the Israelis in the ballooning crisis.

"This is a resolution that calls for an end to the violence and basically says we support the Israelis in the peace process," House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt said. Gephardt, who is a cosponsor of the measure, speculated that Republicans could put the resolution to a floor vote as early as today.

Arab groups slammed the proposal. Arab American Institute President James Zogbe called the resolution, "a horribly one-sided and terribly damaging resolution that one hopes will not see the light of day but fears will." Zogbe said the lopsided statement shows that Congress is "ill-equipped" to handle foreign policy issues.

Committee Chairman Benjamin A. Gilman from New York and his Democratic colleague Sam Gejdenson from Connecticut drafted the measure. Congressional resolutions are non-binding statements of position that carry no legal weight, but put Congress' views on policy issues on the record for the administration, the American people and the world.

"The Palestinian leadership not only did too little for far too long to control the violence, but in fact encouraged it," the resolution reads. The House, "expresses its solidarity with the State and people of Israel at this time of crisis." It also, "Condemns the Palestinian leadership for encouraging the violence . . . resulting in the senseless loss of life."

The resolution calls on the U.S. to defend Israel at the U.N. When that body passed a resolution last week condemning the violence and blaming Israel, the U.S. abstained from the vote but did not use its veto authority to derail it.

The resolution, "Urges the Administration to use its veto power at the U.N. Security Council to ensure the Security Council does not again pass unbalanced resolutions addressing the uncontrolled violence in the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority."

That vote angered the pro-Israeli lobby here in Washington. American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) president Tim Wuliger said afterward, "We are profoundly disappointed at the administration's failure to veto the U.N. resolution . . . which wrongly criticized Israel for using 'excessive force against the Palestinians.'" AIPAC proudly calls itself "the most influential foreign policy lobbying organization on Capitol Hill."

www.vny.com/cf/News/upide...QID=127248

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), October 12, 2000

Answers

That'll learn 'em. If the U.S. Congress passes a resolution condemning the Palastinians, Arafat will shake in his boots.

-- Buck (bigbuck@trailways.net), October 12, 2000.

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