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Cruz Offers Bill Demanding PLO Be Held Accountable For Their Actions

   DailyWire.com
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 10: Fox News anchor Shepard Smith on the set of “Studio B with Shepard Smith” at Fox News studios in New York. Fox News Channel celebrated its 15th anniversary on the air on October 7th.

On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, on Wednesday introduced the PLO Accountability Act (S. 2537/H.R. 4522). Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) led the fight for the bill in the House of Representatives, accompanied by 11 other original cosponsors.

The bill would close down the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington, D.C. unless the following conditions are met and certified by the president in writing:

  1. The Palestinians have not, on or after April 1, 2015, obtained state standing in the United Nations or any of its member or affiliate organizations;
  2. They have ceased to be members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and that any and all preliminary examinations or ongoing investigations against Israel or Israeli nationals at the ICC be dropped;
  3. The PLO no longer provides financial payments to terrorists imprisoned in Israel or the families of those who have committed attacks;
  4. The PLO no longer promotes anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement.

There is already a law banning the PLO from maintaining an office in the U.S.: the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987. But during Bill Clinton’s reign, that part of the law was waived, and has been ignored ever since.

Cruz, likely the most staunch advocate for the state of Israel in the Senate, (remember him walking out when Arab Christians booed him for standing up for Israel?), stated:

The Palestinian Liberation Organization has for decades been a relentless advocate for terrorist violence against the Jewish people. The United States needs to make it perfectly clear to the Palestinians that this behavior is intolerable, and that we stand with our ally Israel. Closing the PLO office in Washington D.C. sends the clear signal that the days of America turning a blind eye to the militant anti-Semitism of this organization are over, and that we will no longer allow political correctness to force us to host terrorist organizations in Washington, D.C.

Ros-Lehtinen echoed:

The PLO office in Washington, D.C. was allowed to open in 1994, despite a prohibition in U.S. law, with the intention of implementing the Oslo Accords and facilitating a Middle East peace, but in the 22 years its doors have been open, the PLO has done nothing but violate Oslo and make the possibility of a lasting peace even more remote. There is simply no justification in allowing the PLO office to remain while Palestinian leaders openly incite violence against Israel, continue their efforts to delegitimize the Jewish State at the UN, and move forward with their scheme to achieve unilateral statehood at the UN without reaching a negotiated agreement with Israel. The legislation that we have introduced in both the House and Senate will ensure that the Palestinians no longer get a free pass and will be held accountable for their actions.

In September 2014, Cruz appeared at a conference for Middle Eastern Christians, boldly stating:

Christians have no greater ally than Israel … Those who hate Israel hate America. Those who hate Jews hate Christians. If those in this room will not recognize that, then my heart weeps. If you hate the Jewish people you are not reflecting the teachings of Christ. And the very same people who persecute and murder Christians right now, who crucify Christians, who behead children, are the very same people who target Jews for their faith, for the same reason.

As the crow kept booing, yelling, “Leave the stage,” Cruz concluded, “If you will not stand with Israel and the Jews, Then I will not stand with you. Good night, and God bless.”

And left.

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