By Munir K. Nasser
Chief Correspondent, Washington, DC
Albawaba.com
Congress is poised to vote Tuesday on a resolution that places exclusive blame for the current crisis on the Palestinians and pledges strong support for Israel.
As stated by International Committee Relations Chairman Ben Gilman, who introduced the resolution, it is a "hard-hitting resolution condemning Yasser Arafat and encouraging strong support for Israel during this time of crisis." A similar resolution is expected in the Senate this week.
The text of the resolution, cosponsored by more than 60 members of the House of Representatives, urges the US administration to use its veto power at the UN 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.”
The resolution also “condemns the Palestinian leadership for encouraging the violence and doing so little for so long to stop it, resulting in the senseless loss of life.”
It also calls upon the Palestinian leadership “to refrain from any exhortations to public incitement, urges the Palestinian leadership to vigorously use its security forces to stop all violence, to show respect for all holy sites, and to settle all grievances through negotiations.”
In the introduction to the resolution, the text claims that “the Palestinians now fully control over 40% of the West Bank and Gaza, with over 95% of the Palestinian population under the civil administration of the Palestinian Authority.”
It also argues that the Palestinian Authority, with the assistance of Israel and the international community, “created a strong police force--almost twice the number allowed under the Oslo accords--specifically to maintain public order.”
The text alleges that, “Israel made clear to the world its commitment to peace at Camp David where it expressed its readiness to take wide-ranging and painful steps in order to bring an end to the conflict, but these proposals were rejected by Chairman Arafat.”
American Jewish groups, headed by American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) are pushing strongly fro the passage of the resolution and urged their members to contact their members of Congress to support the resolution. At the same time, Arab American leaders are calling on their members to urge Congress to oppose what they described as “dangerous, one-sided anti-peace resolution” -- Albawaba.com
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