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Bill to close PAï¿½s Washington office set to pass this summer
Jaap van Wesel / Washington

Congress is likely to pass a law this summer which would lead to the closure of the Palestinian Authority office in Washington and block U.S visas for Palestinian officials, informed sources say. The law will probably be a compromise between a Senate bill for the immediate imposition of such sanctions and a bill pending in the House of Representatives, which requires the president to take similar actions if the PLO or PA do not comply with commitments undertaken in agreements with Israel.

In addition, the Senate bill would seize Yasser Arafatï¿½s personal assets in the U.S., and impose on the PAï¿½s observer at the U.N. the same stringent travel restrictions that already exist for Iranï¿½s representative.

The house bill is sponsored by Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) and Tom Lantos (D-CA), and Ben Gillman (R-NY). The Senate measure was proposed by Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

The Feinstein-McConnell Arafat Accountability Act is, in fact, a toughened version of the House bill; it authorizes sanctions against Arafat "since" he and the PA are not in compliance with peace deals, rather than leveling those measures "if" violations take place.

Efforts are also under way in both houses to pass a non-binding resolution in support of Israel, the "Solidarity with Israel Act." Signed by more than 240 members of Congress, it calls Operation Defensive Shield "an [Israeli] effort to defend itself against the unspeakable horrors of ongoing terrorism."

The solidarity resolution was introduced in the House in late April by Lantos and Republican whip Tom DeLay, a key figure in the GOP leadership in Congress, over administration objections. DeLay initially rebuffed a request to delay the vote by Secretary of State Powell, who argued that such a demonstration of support for Israel would damage U.S. interests in the Arab world. DeLay later agreed to postpone the vote, after a a request from President Bush.

American administrations always fight congressional interference with foreign policy, but this fight is more dramatic than usual since it illustrates the different interests of the Bush administration and Republican members of Congress in an election year.

There is no controversy about Senate letters in support of Israel. Republican Senator Gordon Smith and Democrat Chuck Schumer have asked U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to investigate the PAï¿½s and Arafatï¿½s personal involvement in terrorism, and 99 of the 100 senators have signed a letter asking Bush to raise "at the highest level" American concerns about the wave of anti-Semitism in Europe and the Arab world. Only the signature of octogenarian senator Jesse Helms is missing: He is in the hospital.

(May 20, 2002)

Reporter