Congress: 114 · Status: active · Israel/Palestine classification: pro-Israel
Data (JSON) — machine-readable record of this bill (identifiers, sponsor, classification, actions, and the member-by-member vote breakdown).
Official record on Congress.gov — full text, actions, and cosponsor history for HR 4522.
Sponsor: Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (R-FL)
PLO Accountability Act This bill expresses the sense of Congress concerning the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the peace process and adherence to diplomatic agreements with Israel, PA support for an International Criminal Court investigation of Israel, and the presence of a PLO office in Washington, DC. The Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987 is amended to authorize the President to waive for up to six months the prohibition against establishment or maintenance of a PLO office, headquarters, premises, or other facilities within U.S. jurisdiction, if the President certifies to Congress that the Palestinians have entered into a final negotiated peace agreement with, and have ceased hostilities against, Israel or that: the Palestinians have not, on or after April 1, 2015, obtained state standing in the United Nations or any specialized agency thereof outside an agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians; the Palestinians have officially ceased to be members of the ICC and have withdrawn from the Rome Statute; any ICC investigation against Israel initiated by, or on behalf of, the Palestinians has been withdrawn and terminated; the PLO and the PA no longer provide financial awards or salaries to Palestinians imprisoned in Israel for terrorist attacks, or to their families; and the PLO and the PA no longer engage in a pattern of incitement against the United States or Israel.
This bill tightens restrictions on the PLO's ability to maintain an office in Washington DC. Currently, a 1987 law bans PLO offices in the US; this bill allows the President to temporarily waive that ban (for up to six months) only if Palestinians sign a final peace deal with Israel OR meet five specific conditions: they don't seek UN statehood outside Israel negotiations, they withdraw from the International Criminal Court, they end any ICC investigations of Israel, they stop paying salaries to Palestinians imprisoned for attacks, and they stop anti-US/Israel rhetoric.
This raises the bar for PLO diplomatic presence in the US by conditioning it on Palestinian concessions on ICC participation and prisoners' stipends—issues outside traditional peace negotiations. It effectively locks in constraints on Palestinian institutional moves independent of Israeli agreement, which affects Palestine's room to pursue justice mechanisms and support for imprisoned individuals.