Americans for Peace Now (APN) regrets Hamas' victory in the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council. APN believes the international community (including the U.S.) must make a concerted and coordinated effort to pressure Hamas to recognize Israel's right to exist and end violence directed against Israel. APN supports seeing this pressure take the form of specific U.S. sanctions impacting aid to the PA from the U.S. and other sources, and impacting access to and contacts with PA officials. However, APN cautions against using the Hamas victory as a pretext for imposing sanctions that undermine U.S. interests, either by unreasonably tying the President's hands in the conduct of foreign policy, or by sending a message to Palestinians who are NOT terrorists that the U.S. is foreclosing future options for positive engagement with the Palestinians.

The results of the Palestinian elections are troubling, and the future is uncertain. Hamas must move quickly to recognize Israel and abandon hate-based politics if it wishes to meet its electoral promises to improve the lives of the Palestinian people and keep the Palestinians from international isolation. At the same time, the U.S. and the rest of the international community must continue to remain engaged in trying to prevent conflict and in promoting policies that will allow the two sides to eventually return to negotiations.

The Bush Administration has laid out criteria that the Palestinian Authority must meet. On January 26th President Bush stated: "I don't see how you can be a partner in peace if you advocate the destruction of a country as part of your platform. And I know you can't be a partner in peace.if your party has got an armed wing. The elections just took place. We will watch very carefully about the formation of the government. But I will continue to remind people about what I just said, that if your platform is the destruction of Israel, it means you're not a partner in peace. And we're interested in peace."

Hamas has not yet formed a government or taken the reins of power, so it is not yet clear how Hamas - and President Mahmoud Abbas - will respond to President Bush's message and the implicit ultimatum it contains. Congress thus should be cautious about legislating far-reaching, permanent changes to U.S. policy vis à vis the Palestinians prematurely.

APN on HR 4681
(the Ros-Lehtinen/Lantos bill, entitled "the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006")

Sanctions & Certification Requirements for the PA

It is appropriate for the U.S. to curb PA access and influence so long as Hamas or other terrorist organizations are in power and have not reformed.

However, HR 4681 risks sending the message that even if Hamas meets President Bush's requirements, or even if moderates manage to oust Hamas from power, relations with the U.S. will not improve. This is because HR 4681 would impose sanctions and restrictions that would remain in place, regardless of the presence (or absence) of terrorists in the PA. This is a dangerous message to send at this precarious moment and Congress should reject this approach.

APN urges Congress to take a focused approach to any new sanctions, conditioning them exclusively on the real issues at stake at this moment: terrorism and acceptance of Israel. APN also urges Congress to include a "sunset" provision under which any new sanctions would automatically expire after the next Palestinian legislative elections, and specifically, one day after the formation of the next Palestinian government.

Direct aid to the Palestinian Authority

Recognizing Israel and abandoning violence and terror should be preconditions for any direct aid to the new Palestinian government. APN therefore supports existing law barring any direct aid to the PA.

APN also supports current law which provides the President with a waiver of this ban, to be used only in cases where he deems it in the interests of U.S. national security to provide direct aid.

APN urges Congress to reject efforts to eliminate this waiver, or to replace it with excessive conditions that tie the President's hands - permanently - in the conduct of sensitive U.S. foreign policy and the furtherance of U.S. national security interests.

Aid to the Palestinians via NGOs

Aid to the Palestinians via non-governmental organizations should continue, with appropriate monitoring and supervision - as already required under current law - to ensure that funds are not used for terrorism or wasted by fraud and corruption. Specifically, aid for basic human health needs should continue, regardless of the political coloration of the PA.

With respect to other types of U.S. assistance via NGOs, Congress should avoid imposing additional unnecessary restrictions on what is already this most heavily conditioned and monitored aid program in the world.

The extensive pre-notification requirements stipulated in HR 4681 - on top of existing pre-notification requirements, reporting requirements, oversight requirements, vetting requirements, and auditing requirements - could severely hamper the ability of the Administration to promote U.S. national interests in the Palestinian population. These include the fostering of a robust civil society as a means of encouraging domestic opposition to Hamas and keeping the door open to future democratic political change in the West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinians have clearly demonstrated aptitude for democracy, including a readiness to use elections to reject failed leadership, and continuing to bolster a strong Palestinian civil society should be viewed as a vital U.S. interest.

APN opposes permanently conditioning aid to the West Bank and Gaza on the far-reaching certification requirements stipulated in HR 4681. As described above, these certification requirements would still apply, and still hamper USAID programs, even if there were no terrorist elements present in the PA.

Relations with the PLO

Hamas is a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. With Hamas in control of the PA, it is appropriate for the U.S. and the international community to take steps to pressure Hamas to change its character and behavior, and to curb PA access and influence until such changes are made.

The PLO is not a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, and Hamas is not, and has never been, a member of the PLO. The U.S. and Israel have maintained constructive relations with the PLO for more than a decade. The recent elections did not see the PLO undertaking any changes in behavior or character that would justify the U.S. abruptly shifting policy to treat the PLO as a terrorist organization.

Given the likelihood of substantially reduced, or altogether frozen, relations between the U.S. and the Palestinian Authority for the foreseeable future, maintaining good lines of communication between the U.S. and the PLO now takes on greater importance than at any time since the outset of the peace process. This is especially true given post-elections polling that shows that most Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza still view the PLO, and not the PA (or Hamas, or Fatah) as the representative of the Palestinian people.

The Hamas victory should not be used as a pretext for halting any and all constructive relations with even those Palestinians leaders who are not affiliated with terrorist organizations. It should especially not be used as a pretext to undermine relations with an organization that has broad legitimacy and offers a potential alternative interlocutor to the PA.

APN urges Members of Congress to reject the approach of HR 4681, which seeks to lump together the PA and the PLO, and thereby expand and reinforce restrictions on U.S. relations with the PLO.