2013 Briefing Book - Print Version - Aipac

PEACE PROCESS
What Congress Has Done to Support the Peace Process
Opposed a Unilateral Declaration of Palestinian Statehood. In mid-2011, the House
and Senate overwhelmingly passed resolutions that called on the administration
to lead opposition to the Palestinian statehood gambit at the United Nations. The
sentiment in the resolutions echoes a law passed by Congress 11 years earlier. The
law, the Peace Through Negotiations Act of 2000, expressed U.S. opposition to the
unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, arguing that such an action would violate
the underlying principles of the Oslo Accords and the Middle East peace process.
Congress sent a strong message as part of the 2012 foreign aid appropriations bill,
mandating that aid to the Palestinians would be cut and the PLO office closed if they
achieved statehood status at the U.N. or any specialized agencies. Also, Congress
continued its support for current law that would cut off U.S. funding to any U.N.
agency that admitted “Palestine” as a member state.
Pressed Palestinians to Make Fundamental Changes. An overwhelming majority of the
House and Senate signed letters in 2003 to then-President George W. Bush backing
his demands that to restart negotiations the Palestinians must take the following
steps: Elect new leaders not tainted by terrorism; implement security, economic and
political reforms; and end violence against Israelis.
Supported Key U.S. Peace Commitments to Israel. The House and Senate overwhelmingly
passed resolutions in 2004 strongly endorsing key commitments that President George
W. Bush made in an April 14, 2004, letter to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
supporting the Israeli leader’s plan to withdraw from Gaza. The resolutions strongly
backed the president’s support for defensible borders that reflect demographic realities
and opposition to the Palestinian refugees’ so-called right of return to Israel.
Restricted U.S. Aid to Hamas-Led Palestinian Authority. With Hamas joining a
national unity government with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’
Fatah faction, Congress passed in 2006 the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, which
strengthened the ban on direct U.S. aid to the Palestinians as long as the terrorist
organization was part of the government. The law permitted humanitarian assistance
to continue through non-governmental organizations.
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