REP. ANDREWS COSPONSORS LEGISLATION TO WITHHOLD ASSISTANCE TO PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY UNTIL IT DENOUNCES TERRORISM

I have cosponsored the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act (H.R. 4681) and the Limitation on Assistance to the Palestinian Authority Act (H.R. 4668), which would require that the Palestinian Authority cut all ties to terrorist organizations in order to receive further U.S. assistance.  Following recent elections, Hamas, a terror linked organization, now leads the Palestinian Authority.  The U.S. will not provide aid to any organization connected to terrorists and we will certainly not support an organization whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel, our partner and the only long standing democracy in the Middle East.

This legislation requires that that the Palestinian Authority demonstrates that it is not controlled by a terrorist organization in order to receive U.S. funding.  Furthermore, the Palestinian Authority led by Hamas must recognize the right of Israel to exist and uphold previously established treaties.  They must prevent acts of terrorism against Israel, renounce violence, and halt anti-Israeli rhetoric.  I sincerely hope that the Palestinian Authority takes these steps to enhance the peace and safety of their region.  The U.S. wants to help the Palestinian people build a democratic and tolerant state side by side with Israel.  We will not, however, authorize further support while Israel is under the barrel of a gun.

To track the progress of H.R. 4681 and H.R. 4668 please visit http://thomas.loc.gov. 

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