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SRES 499 IS

Urging Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is also the head of the Fatah Party, to officially abrogate the 10 articles in the Fatah Constitution that call for Israel's destruction and terrorism against Israel, oppose any political solution, and label Zionism as racism.

April 3, 2008

Mr. SPECTER (for himself, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. CASEY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

Urging Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is also the head of the Fatah Party, to officially abrogate the 10 articles in the Fatah Constitution that call for Israel's destruction and terrorism against Israel, oppose any political solution, and label Zionism as racism.

Whereas, on October 3, 2006, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority said, `It is not required of Hamas, or of Fatah, or of the Popular Front to recognize Israel';

Whereas, on February 8, 2007, President Mahmoud Abbas openly signed the Mecca Agreement with Hamas, which does not recognize Israel and calls `for confronting the [Israeli] occupation';

Whereas, in 2007, there continue to exist 10 specific articles out of 27 articles in Chapter 1 of the Fatah Constitution that call for Israel's destruction, call for the armed struggle and armed revolution against Israel to continue, call for the prevention of Jewish immigration to Israel, oppose any political solution, and label Zionism as racism; and

Whereas the 10 articles of the Fatah Constitution that oppose Israel and Zionism are: (1) `Article (4): The Palestinian struggle is part and parcel of the world-wide struggle against Zionism, colonialism and international imperialism.'; (2) `Article (7): The Zionist Movement is racial, colonial and aggressive in ideology, goals, organization and method.'; (3) `Article (8): The Israeli existence in Palestine is a Zionist invasion with a colonial expansive base, and it is a natural ally to colonialism and international imperialism.'; (4) `Article (12): Complete liberation of Palestine, and eradication of Zionist economic, political, military and cultural existence.'; (5) `Article (17): Armed public revolution is the inevitable method to liberating Palestine.'; (6) `Article (19): Armed struggle is a strategy and not a tactic, and the Palestinian Arab People's armed revolution is a decisive factor in the liberation fight and in uprooting the Zionist existence, and this struggle will not cease unless the Zionist state is demolished and Palestine is completely liberated.'; (7) `Article (22): Opposing any political solution offered as an alternative to demolishing the Zionist occupation in Palestine, as well as any project intended to liquidate the Palestinian case or impose any international mandate on its people.'; (8) `Article (23): Maintaining relations with Arab countries . . . with the proviso that the armed struggle is not negatively affected'; (9) `Article (24): Maintaining relations with all liberal forces supporting our just struggle in order to resist Zionism and imperialism'; and (10) `Article (25): Convincing concerned countries in the world to prevent Jewish immigration to Palestine as a method of solving the problem.': Now, therefore be it

Resolved, That the Senate--

(1) urges President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, who is also head of the Fatah Party, to officially abrogate the 10 articles from the Fatah Constitution that call for the destruction of Israel and terrorism against Israel, oppose any political solution, and label Zionism as racism; and

(2) condemns the continuing existence of these articles as part of the Fatah Constitution.