Palestinian officials on Wednesday accused the US Congress of bias over its threat to impose sanctions on the PLO if it failed to abide by a CIA-mediated ceasefire in the Middle East, said AFP.
"Congress' warning to the Palestinian Authority and the PLO is biased," an aide to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Nabil Abu Rudeina, told the agency.
"This policy is serving the enemy of peace in the region and will hurt American interests," Abu Rudeina said. "It is encouraging the Israeli government to continue its aggression."
The US House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill calling for sanctions against Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization if it “fails to honor” the six-week old US-negotiated ceasefire.
The $15.2 billion foreign aid bill requires President George W. Bush to close the Palestinian information office in Washington; or designate the PLO a terrorist organization; or limit assistance to the West Bank and Gaza if he cannot "determine" that the PLO is taking steps to curb "violence."
"I believe this provision strikes the middle ground and sends the right message to the Palestinians and their leaders, and that is 'Comply with your commitments regarding renunciation of terror and violence, and then no sanctions will be imposed'," said Republican Jim Kolbe, chairman of the House subcommittee on foreign operations.
Vowing to stand by Israel, the House approved $2.04 billion in military assistance to the Jewish state for fiscal 2002, a $60 million increase over the previous year, which ends on September 30, the agency added.
But economic aid to Israel was cut by $120 million, to $720 million, compared to the fiscal 2001 level, in line with a mutually agreed policy of reducing economic assistance in light of Israel's economic success.
The vote came as unrest continued unabated in the Occupied Territories, despite the ceasefire agreement brokered by CIA Director George Tenet.
A 15-year-old youth, Mohammed Nasser Mohammed Swalih, was seriously wounded when Israeli tanks opened fire north of the Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, said the Palestinian news agency, WAFA.
It added that the Israeli army opened fire on a refugee camp in the area of the West Bank city of Hebron. According to the reports, several special Israeli units conducted house to house searches, including the home of Jabar Titi, who is wanted by the security forces, said Haaretz newspaper - Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
