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Rep. Saxton Praised for Holding PA to Its Commitments to U.S. and Israel
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 12, 1997 — In a letter prior to the terrorist bombing in Jerusalem, JINSA praised The Hon. Jim Saxton (R-NJ) for his “steadfast insistence that the PLO/Palestinian Authority meet its commitments under the Oslo Accords in order to continue to receive U.S. funding.” JINSA’s Executive Director Tom Neumann wrote, “It is a measure of your own integrity that you insist that agreements - including agreements made by Yasser Arafat - must be kept. And it is a measure of your fiscal responsibility to the citizens of the United States that American taxpayer dollars will not be squandered on an organization that will neither meet its commitments nor account for the money it has already received.”
U.S. funding for the Palestinian Authority was suspended by a voice vote on Mr. Saxton’s Amendment following the bombing, and will likely be the subject of renewed Congressional debate in September.
Mr. Saxton has been a leader in congressional efforts over the past four years to ensure that the Palestinian Authority under Yasser Arafat adheres to the commitments of the Oslo Accords. These include changing the Palestinian Covenant, renouncing violence and hostile propaganda, and fighting the terrorist infrastructure in PA controlled areas.
Noting Mr. Saxton’s efforts, and the difficulty of keeping the issue of Palestinian violations before Congress, Neumann added, “The easiest course of action might well be to ignore serious Palestinian violations ... in the hope that in the future Mr. Arafat will honor his commitments and become accountable for funds given him. But history tells us that the easier course of action in the short run can create unimaginable difficulties in the longer term.
“It is (JINSA’s) sincere hope that the Palestinians and Israelis will find peaceful solutions to their differences. But we also believe that no lasting peace can be built on a foundation of the cynical use of violence and unfulfilled commitments.”
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