Update on House Bill S. 2370 (Palestinian Anti-Terrorist Act of 2006)
06/2006
On June 23, 2006, the Senate passed bill S. 2370 (also known as the Palestinian Anti-Terrorist Act of 2006 – its companion in the House is HR 4681, passed earlier this year). This bill includes significant alterations over previous versions and over the House version – changes that address many of the concerns of Meretz USA and its allies. The bill continues to sanction Hamas and to send an anti-terrorism message, but contains the following important revisions:
- It allows for a Presidential waiver on funding to the PA which gives the Bush administration the ability to direct funding in the event of a crisis.
- The bill is clearly focused on Hamas, and not on the PA as a whole, such that its visa restrictions and other sanctions apply only to Hamas and not to other officials of the PA. In addition, the sanctions it denotes are only effective when Hamas is in control of the PA.
- The bill restates one of the requirements of Hamas, requiring that it “acknowledge the Jewish state of Israel’s right to exist” rather than “recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.”
- The bill allows a broader waiver of the ban on aid to Gaza and the West Bank, allowing humanitarian aid to flow more freely, and also providing assistance to non-Hamas members of the PLC for their participation in democratic governance of the PA, efforts toward transparency and efficiency within the PA, and efforts toward peace.
- The bill authorizes $20 million for an “Israeli-Palestinian Peace, Reconciliation, and Democracy Fund” to support Palestinian and Israeli initiatives and organizations that further the causes of democracy, human rights, press freedom, and peace and reconciliation.