Senators Feinstein, Lugar Introduce Legislation to
Disapprove of Unilaterally Declared Palestinian State
September 6, 2000

Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) today introduced legislation declaring that the United States should not recognize any unilaterally declared Palestinian state.

“We are now one week away from September 13, the day that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has set for a possible unilateral declaration of Palestinian Statehood,” Senator Feinstein said. “Despite Chairman Arafat’s recent statements that he will ‘reassess’ his intention to declare an independent Palestinian State unilaterally, I remain extremely concerned that neither he nor any other senior Palestinian leaders have unequivocally repudiated the idea of such a state.

“It is my sincere hope that in the next few days Chairman Arafat and others in the Palestinian leadership will step back from the September 13 deadline, and recommit themselves to the Oslo process and negotiations with Israel. This legislation is necessary, however, because should Mr. Arafat go forward with a unilateral declaration, the United States must make it clear that we will not recognize or condone a unilateral declaration, and that the United States will work to make sure that the international community neither accepts nor supports such a unilaterally declared Palestinian state.

The legislation would also:

• Urge the President and Secretary of State to use all diplomatic means to work with U.S. allies to not extend recognition to such a Palestinian State;

• Prohibit any direct United States assistance to a unilaterally declared Palestinian state, except for humanitarian assistance or cooperation on anti-terrorism efforts;

• Direct the Secretary of the Treasury to oppose Palestinian membership in any international financial institution by a unilaterally declared Palestinian state. It would also direct the Secretary of the Treasury to oppose any financial assistance from these institutions to such a state;

• State the Sense of Congress that the President should downgrade the status of the Palestinian office in the United States to an information office; and

• State the Sense of Congress that the President should oppose Palestinian membership in the United Nations or any other international organization, and that the United States should oppose economic or other assistance to a unilaterally declared Palestinian state, except for humanitarian or security assistance.

"A unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state would create an unnecessary rupture in our ability to work with the Palestinian Authority to advance the peace process in the Middle East. It would be harmful to the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and would be disastrous to the peace process. Chairman Arafat should resist the impulse to unilaterally declare an Palestinian state and, instead, redouble his efforts to energize the peace process with creative solutions to remaining outstanding issues," Senator Lugar said.

The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA), James Inhofe (R-OK), Rick Santorum (R-PA), Rod Grams (R-MN), Frank Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY).

“I urge my colleagues to join the Senator from Indiana and me in sending a clear and compelling message in support of the Middle East peace process: Unilateral actions are not acceptable to the United States, and should the Palestinian Authority choose to break with the peace process, the United States will act accordingly.”