Help Support H.R. 4681, the “Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006”

Sanitizing Hamas: At least for the time-being, there is widespread revulsion at the Hamas victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections and agreement that the United States, Israel and Europe should not be dealing with Hamas or with a Hamas-run government. The problem is that Hamas has begun taking steps to sanitize its image, even while pursuing a parallel course of terror, in order to gain international acceptability. These Hamas steps include its acquiescence in the selection of a non-Hamas figurehead Prime Minister who would serve alongside President Mahmoud Abbas, while Hamas and its terrorist allies in the Al-Aqsa Brigades and Tanzim would run a number of key ministries in the government, have control over some of the security services, and have a behind-the-scenes veto over virtually everything that the government might do. And Hamas already has begun making statements to the western press that make it sound moderate but that are directly contradicted by what its officials say in Arabic to their own population, statements that do not hold up under close scrutiny.

H.R. 4681: Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R), Chair of the Middle East and Central Asia Subcommittee of the Committee on International Relations, and Tom Lantos (D), Ranking Democrat on the Committee, joined by Representatives Eric Cantor, Steve Chabot and Gary Ackerman, have introduced H.R. 4681, the “Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006” to prevent any aid from being used to prop up Hamas or a government in which Hamas is a participant. Here are the key provisions of the bill:

It forbids the transfer of any U.S. taxpayer funds the Palestinian Authority unless it can be certified that no ministry, agency or instrumentality of the P.A. is controlled by a terrorist organization and no member of a terrorist organization serves in such ministry, agency or instrumentality. And it forbids such transfer until the P.A. publicly acknowledges Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish State, recommits itself to all prior agreements including the Road Map, purges its security services of terrorists, dismantles the infrastructure of terrorism, and halts all anti-Israel incitement;

· Calls on the President to direct the US Executive Director at each international financial institution of which the U.S. is a member (IMF, World Bank, etc) to use the voice, vote, and influence of the U.S. to prohibit assistance to the PA during any time that the above requirements for certification are not met;

· Declares the P.A. to be a terrorist organization and deems the territory under P.A. control to be a sanctuary for terrorists or terrorist organizations, until the above conditions are met. And it places constraints on U.S. exports to such territory under the Export Administration Act of 1979; U.S. Foreign Assistance Act, and the Foreign Relations Authorization Act (1988 and 1989);

· Bans assistance to any non-governmental organizations in such territory except for humanitarian aid;

· Bans visas for any official of the P.A. to travel to the United States;

· Limits the travel of P.A. officials at the UN to a 25-mile radius;

· Calls for the closure of the all P.A. offices, other than its U.N offices;

· Bans diplomatic contact with any P.A. official that is a member of Hamas.

How you can help: Please contact your Representative in Congress by email by clicking on the TAKE ACTION NOW link and ask that he or she sign on to H.R. 4681. Also let Representatives Ros-Lehtinen and Lantos know how much we appreciate their leadership on this issue.

The American Jewish Congress