LEADING HOUSE MEMBERS, CENTER’S FISHBEIN URGE END TO REWARDING OF ARAFAT’S SUPPORT FOR ANTI-ISRAELI TERRORISM

(Washington, D.C.): Yesterday — for the first time in the
more than two years since the PLO-Israeli Declaration of
Principles (DoP) was signed at the White House — Americans
concerned that the so-called Middle East peace process is
endangering Israel and U.S. interests in the region were
permitted to appear at a congressional hearing on the subject.
Much of this testimony provided to the House International
Relations Committee by leading Members of Congress and outside
experts addressed a single point: The dangerous absurdity of
allowing the better part of half-a-billion U.S. taxpayer
dollars to flow to Yasser Arafat in light of his continuing
failure to abide by PLO commitments pursuant to the DoP and
subsequent agreements.

Of special concern is Arafat’s continuing role in encouraging
and legitimizing violent acts of terrorism against Israel. Over
the past twenty-four months, hundreds of Israelis and three
Americans, including one unborn child, have been murdered in
incidents that the PLO Chairman has been documented publicly
applauding as the handiwork of “martyrs” and
“heroes,” a glorious contribution to “jihad
via death, via battles.” Via oral testimony from Reps.
Michael Forbes (R- NY), Jim Saxton (R-NJ) and Peter
Deutsch (D-FL) and a written statement from the Majority
Whip, Tom DeLay (R-TX), fellow legislators were warned of the
dire consequences sure to flow should the United States be seen
as rewarding such behavior by providing — despite it — vast
amounts of foreign aid to Arafat and his operatives. Rep. Dan
Burton (R-IN), another hero of this cause, spoke eloquently
and persuasively about Arafat’s video statements inciting
Palestinians to violence against Israel. Rep. Ros-Lehtinen
grilled representatives of the GAO on their classified report on
PLO finances. She obtained from the officials a confirmation that
the PLO has refused to cooperate in disclosing to the GAO the
level of their holdings — estimated by the British to be
approximately $10 billion. As Rep. DeLay put it:

“…As a representative of the American people and a
strong supporter of Israel, I cannot sit by and hope that the
PLO will suddenly decide to abide by the commitments it made
two years ago. I feel it is my duty to cry foul when I
believe the American people are being had and our national
interest is at stake. What we have seen over the last two
years is simply unacceptable.”

Among the outside witnesses testifying at yesterday’s hearing
was a distinguished member of the Center for Security Policy’s
Board of Advisors, Rand Fishbein. Rand is widely regarded
as one of the Nation’s preeminent experts on the Middle East
peace process in general and the question of PLO/PA compliance,
in particular. While he was a staff member for Senator Daniel
Inouye (D-HI) he was active in helping to craft compliance
requirements on American funds going to the PLO. More recently he
has been intimately involved in the preparation of the Middle
East Peace Compliance Act of 1995 sponsored by Reps. DeLay,
Forbes and Saxton in the House (H.R. 1960) and Sens. Alfonse
D’Amato (R-NY), Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Larry Craig (R-ID) in
the Senate (S.916). Excerpts of Mr.
Fishbein’s powerful testimony are attached.