11 July 2002
Text: Palestinians, Israelis Deserve a Future Free of Violence, Humiliation
(Satterfield testimony before HIRC, July 11) (1846)
In his testimony before the House International Relations Committee
(HIRC) on July 11, David Satterfield, Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State for Near Eastern Affairs, told lawmakers that both Palestinians
and Israelis deserve a future free from violence and humiliation.
Satterfield said there is broad international support for the
President's vision of two states living side by side, and he
emphasized that the United States remains committed to "helping the
Israelis and Palestinians achieve the future they deserve."
But he warned that legislation currently under consideration in the
House of Representatives would eliminate the flexibility needed to
encourage the Palestinian Authority to move in a new direction.
The two bills under consideration, H.R. 1795 and H.R. 4693, would
impose strict political and economic sanctions - including travel
restrictions, the freezing of Palestinian assets in the United States,
and officially designating the PLO a terrorist organization -- on
members of the PLO and the Palestinian Authority.
While the United States is encouraging Palestinian reform, Satterfield
said, "To be successful, it must be the Palestinian people who own
this reform process, and it is our job to support their desire for
real change."
"We do not wish to be seen as promoting punitive measures in a lead-up
to Palestinian elections from which we hope new Palestinian leaders
committed to security and peace in the region will emerge," he said.
Following is the text of Deputy Assistant Secretary Satterfield's
remarks to the House International Relations Committee on July 11.
(begin text)
Statement of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
Near Eastern Affairs David Satterfield
Before the House International Relations Committee
Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
July 11, 2002
Thank you, Chairman Gilman. And thank you to all the Members of the
Committee for giving me this opportunity to discuss our efforts to
promote peace in the Middle East and the potential effect on those
efforts of HR 1795, the Middle East Peace Commitments Act, and HR
4693, the Arafat Accountability Act. Mr. Chairman, we remain committed
to helping the Israelis and Palestinians achieve the future they
deserve -- a future that puts an end to terror and violence, a future
that removes the daily threats to ordinary Israelis who worry about
whether their children will return safely from school or their spouses
from the market, a future that preserves Israel as a strong and
vibrant Jewish state, a future that grants Palestinians the chance for
normal, dignified lives in their own state, with responsible and
responsive governance. Both peoples deserve a future without violence
or humiliation.
We will play our part, and help lead the parties along the path to
peace. But the parties also must play their separate parts, as the
President made clear in his June 24 speech. In his remarks, the
President spoke plainly on the need for new Palestinian leadership and
for transparent, accountable Palestinian institutions. The President
was clear that it is unacceptable for Palestinian authorities to
encourage, rather than oppose, terrorism and that this must cease. He
also underlined the need for an externally supervised effort to
rebuild and reform the Palestinian security services. Finally, the
President stated that the United States will not support the
establishment of a Palestinian state until its leaders engage in a
sustained fight against the terrorists and dismantle their
infrastructure.
The President also noted the large stake Israel has in the success of
a democratic Palestine, and challenged Israel to take concrete steps
to support the emergence of a viable, credible Palestinian state.
I can report to you, Mr. Chairman, that there is broad international
support for the President's vision for two states living side-by-side
within secure and recognized borders, and recognition of the urgent
need for reform of Palestinian institutions and its economy, and for
free and fair elections. The President also stressed that as we make
progress toward security, Israeli forces need to withdraw fully to
positions they held prior to September 28, 2000, and consistent with
the recommendations of the Mitchell committee, Israeli settlement
activity must stop.
We have already begun to see some signs of change in Palestinian
governance, although these changes will have to become permanent and
institutionalized. A new, leaner and hopefully more accountable
Palestinian cabinet has been sworn in, which has endorsed a "100 day"
plan detailing reforms to be undertaken in the public security,
financial, judicial, and other domains. Presidential and legislative
elections are expected early next year to give Palestinians the
opportunity to elect leaders committed to peace and who oppose terror.
We are working intensively with the parties in the region, with our
key European, UN and Russian colleagues, and with major international
donors to encourage these and further fundamental reforms in
Palestinian governance, without which our goal of peace in the Middle
East will remain elusive. The President has discussed this rebuilding
with Prime Minister Sharon, Arab leaders and we have engaged the
"Quartet" -- a forum composed of the United States, the European
Union, the United Nations and Russia - which has endorsed this
rebuilding. Next week, Secretary Powell will chair a meeting of the
Quartet to determine the most effective way for the international
community to encourage reform of Palestinian institutions.
As the Secretary and other U.S. officials continue to discuss with the
parties and regional leaders on how we can best move forward with this
strategy, it is essential that we retain the flexibility needed to
encourage the Palestinian Authority to move in a new direction. To be
successful, it must be the Palestinian people who own this reform
process, and it is our job to support their desire for real change. We
are convinced that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians want real
reform, but we have to recognize that if we want the reform process to
succeed, we cannot be seen as imposing new structures from outside, or
the support that currently exists will quickly dissipate.
We therefore see two objectives that must be attained if we are to
achieve our goal of fundamentally reforming Palestinian governance.
First, we must identify and encourage Palestinian leaders and elements
receptive to reform. Second, we must build support among ordinary
Palestinians for reform.
Mr. Chairman, it is the pursuit of these two objectives that leads to
our concerns about the proposed legislation that is the topic of
today's hearing. Although we agree that the Palestinians must fulfill
their peace process commitments, both pieces of legislation would
eliminate the flexibility we will need to attain these goals.
HR 1795 would do so by imposing sanctions, or waiving such sanctions
following a determination that would have triggered sanctions, against
the PLO and PA officials. Such an imposition would be highly
counterproductive to our efforts to focus on positive outcomes,
fueling instead Palestinian and Arab doubts about our readiness to
support an eventual Palestinian state.
We remain engaged with the Palestinians to ensure that the PLO and PA
understand exactly what the Palestinians have to do to meet their
commitments. But requiring the President to make formal determinations
of the compliance of only one of the parties - the Palestinians --
would undermine our efforts to build support among Palestinians for
the institutional reforms advocated by the President.
Imposing restrictions on the operation of the PLO office in the U.S.,
or on the issuance of visas to Palestinian officials, would send the
signal that the U.S. does not welcome communication with Palestinians,
even those committed to reform and peace.
Additionally, imposing restrictions on U.S. economic assistance to the
Palestinians would worsen the already dire economic situation of the
Palestinian population -not the Palestinian Authority -- and further
undermine regional stability. Regionally, this legislation would
undermine our relations with Arab allies by bolstering segments of
Arab public opinion that are already very critical of their regimes'
warm relations with the U.S., their relations with Israel, and their
support for Middle East peace.
HR 4693, the Arafat Accountability Act, would also undercut the very
goal we share of encouraging fundamental, democratic reform of
Palestinian governance. We certainly share Congress's concerns about
the Palestinian Authority's failure to end violence and terror, and
appreciate the support and confidence that has been expressed for
Secretary Powell's efforts.
While the Act is ostensibly aimed at Chairman Arafat, its extensive
requirements would significantly complicate our ability to maintain a
dialogue with other Palestinians on reform and the need for a new
Palestinian leadership.
For example, PA officials, including those with impeccable reform
credentials, will be forced to go through a cumbersome waiver process
before becoming eligible for a visa to visit the United States. By
freezing the PA's assets in the United States we will also make it
more difficult for these officials to pay their expenses while in this
country. We need more contact with the reformers, not less.
In addition, Palestinians will likely perceive the Act as signaling
that we oppose all Palestinians, not just Arafat. That impression will
enhance Arafat's standing among Palestinians and make it more
difficult for Palestinians who agree with our agenda to be seen as
working closely with us.
The bottom line is that we agree with the need for the Palestinians to
comply with their commitments and control the violence, and to move
toward building the institutions necessary for the two-state solution
the President envisions as part of a comprehensive, negotiated peace
between the parties. We do not wish to be seen as promoting punitive
measures in a lead-up to Palestinian elections from which we hope new
Palestinian leaders committed to security and peace in the region will
emerge.
Thank you very much.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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