Middle East Peace Act of 2009 (On the President's Desk)

[DownWithTheLeft]

Does anyone have any particular amendments to introduce?  I am willing to amend the bills to achieve the necessary votes for this bill.  It is important that we actually do something and these countries no they cannot count on the US as an ally if they do not wish to move toward peace.

Obviously I would, as it appears Sen. RealisticIdealist would, like to cut off all aid to Israel, but I understand a bill like this is not going to get past the senate.

[DownWithTheLeft]

I accept SPC's amendment as friendly.  I think the action is fair and appropriate and certainly a well thought of compromise.

If this bill passes I would like to offer it up as a toast to this senate being one of compromise of getting things done.  I really appreciate the efforts to compromise on this bill rather than allowing a few senators sharp boos to overshadow what needs to be done.  I always applaud taking action over pointless statements.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Nay, I too support cutting off aide to both sides

[DownWithTheLeft]

Amendment to replace the bill with the following text:

Section 1
a.) All aid to the nation of Israel shall be suspended until the withdrawal of all Israeli military from West Bank and Gaza Strip
b.) Israel must also recognize Palestine as independent nation
c.) If the nation of Israel withdraws from West bank and Gaza Strip, aid to the nation shall be recontinued

Section 2
a.) All aide shall be suspended to the Palestinian state until all attacks are stopped against Israelis and the Palestinian government recognizes Israel's right to exist
b.) Aide shall be restored if the Palestinian government meets said requirements

[DownWithTheLeft]

A voice from the gallery: once again, note "nation of Israel". I mean, seriously Senators. You can't seriously be this blind (of course, the dolt can't even spell "aid" so maybe it slightly more innocent than it looks). And someone should also remind you all that there is no one, single Palestinian government these days...

Perhaps one needs to look no further than this statement to see why this bill is working.  The problem was never me, it was always you.  Now, we have a group of senators who are willing to work out a compromise.

Well done everyone

[DownWithTheLeft]

Aye on cloture, please don't let Al's rantings continue to influence the senate.  He's finally where he belongs, in a little corner going mad and obsessing about me

[DownWithTheLeft]

Cloture has failed I do believe, so let's keep debating

Remember the context of the bill now, and I would like to see what amendments people will propose.  I'm willing to almost any compromise as something is better than nothing

[DownWithTheLeft]

So does someone propose an amendment to rectify these problems which do in my opinion seem minor?  I have no problem to the change to "state of Israel" and motion to add it as friendly

[DownWithTheLeft]

DWTL, are you going to answer to any of this?

I would indeed be interested in your thoughts.

Surely, I didn't know my input was wanted

As far as the concerns posed by Jas:

1.) While there may certainly be fails in the Palestinian government, or what warrants it, we need to give the incentive to someone.  We can't just say "the Palestinian people".  If you wish to work out a different wording I am alright with that, but I think that the "Palestinian government" is the best terminology we are going to get.

2.) I am quite against offering more aid to the Palestinians, I think a major goal of this bill is not only to try and foricbly make peace, but also to try and remove ourselves from this conflict as much as possible.  I don't think our government can afford to raise Palestinian aid to Israeli levels without further bankrupting ourselves.

3.) I say we allow them to agree on the border, but they may ask for help from Atlasia, or others countries/international bodies in drawing them.  We shouldn't be dicating, however, where these borders are going to be.

4.) I agree that the Israeli blockade must end, and we should include that in the bill.
As for your bill...

I am 100% in favor of your bill and accept it as friendly, however, I think we could add a clause dealing with the blockade.

Frankly, at this point something besides a pointless international measure must be done.  Your revised bill would allow us to stay neutral while at the same time putting pressure on both countries to arrive at a decision themselves.

[DownWithTheLeft]

I accept the amendment as friendly and ask that it is appropriatley added as Section 2, Clause 1C.

I will also put forth the following amendment to be labeled as Section 4:
If Palestine meets said demands, their aid will be increased 5% each year beginning January 1st following the year they met said demands.  If Israel meets said demands, seeing as their aid is already much higher, they shall be given a 2% increase in aid each year.

[DownWithTheLeft]

I can live with that amendment as well. That's ok.

Now we just need to think about the Palestinian "government" bit. Acutally, I think you're probably right that there is no more accurate way to describe it.

We can interpret it to mean the ruling authority in Gaza and the West Bank, I guess. It's not a very easy topic.

What about an amendment saying that the Israelis and Palestinians must agree on what constitutes the Palestinian government?  The Israelis will be eager to get their funds back, so they probably will be more than willing to agree to recognizing some form of Palestinian government.  I think the less we define the terms of this agreement and the more we leave it up to them, the better.

[DownWithTheLeft]

I accept as friendly.

Any other questions/comments?  I think that if none arise by the end of the weekend we should think about moving toward a final vote.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Tremendous, I must say if this bill is passed it shows a lot about this senate and is a sign of great things to come.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Sure, I would fine with the name change.  As much as the name has been near and dear to me since the first time Ebowed introduced this bill, I do not want such a thing to hold up the vote.  I would like to know, however, before we open a vote where other senators stand.  2 isn't enough to pass a bill

[DownWithTheLeft]

I feel confident that we have worked a compromise that makes us neutral in the conflict and allows maximum fleixble for the two sides to work out the differences on their own.

I hope that any senator with a qualm about the bill raises it now.

[DownWithTheLeft]

I accept Lief's amendments as friendly, I thought about possibly shortening the time period, but that is kind of unnecessary

[DownWithTheLeft]

As I told you before, I'd like to see what people think of this idea, but personally I kind of against it.  I think we could use this bill as a test run and if our GM says it works, then we could move to countries.

[DownWithTheLeft]

As I told you before, I'd like to see what people think of this idea, but personally I kind of against it.  I think we could use this bill as a test run and if our GM says it works, then we could move to countries.

that might be appropriate as well.

Do you think we should add anything else to this bill? Or are you ready for a vote?

I'd like to make sure we have enough senators on board before calling this to a vote considering how much work has been put in.  I'd like to wait possibly until tomorrow night to see if any senators have something else to weigh in on.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Section 1:
All non-humanitarian aid to Israel and Palestine is suspended.

Section 2:
1. Aid to Israel will be reinstated if both of the following demands are fulfilled:
 a.) Israel recognizes Palestine as an independent state.
 b.) Israel refrains from maintaining any military presence in Gaza. A limited military presence to protect
      ensure the safety of Israelis residing in the West Bank will be tolerated. The government of Atlasia
      is given permission to determine exactly what is to be tolerated.
 c.) Israel will end the blockade on Gaza in order to continue receiving aid.
      Atlasia does, however, recognize that Israel should be able to defend itself in the event of
      Palestinian aggression, therefore:

        Should Atlasia determine that the Palestinan government is responsible for supporting attacks
        against Israel or its citizens as described in Section 3, Israel may reinstate a military blockade
        with Atlasian approval for a limited amount of time until it is deemed by Atlasia to no longer be
        necessary for the safety of Israel and its citizens, without loss of aid or other negative
        consequences.

2. Any unprovoked military attacks against Palestine will lead immediately to an indefinite suspension of all aid.

3. Failure to meet the following conditions within six months of the passage of this bill will result in full suspension of all aid to Israel.

Section 3:
1. Aid to Palestine will be reinstated if both of following demands are fulfilled:
 a.) Palestine recognizes Israel's right to exist.
 b.) The government of Palestine refrains from encouraging, supporting, or tolerating any attacks
      against Israel or Israeli citizens.

2. Atlasia recognizes that the government of Palestine cannot control every potential attack and will not impose any sanctions if it is determined that it could not prevent any specific attack from happening. The government of Atlasia is given permission to interpret specific situations.

3. All aid will be suspended indefinitely if it is determined that the government of Palestine is actively supporting attacks against Israel of its citizens.

4. Failure to meet the following conditions within six months of the passage of this bill will result in full suspension of all aid to Palestine

Section 4:
If Palestine meets said demands, their aid will be increased 5% each year beginning January 1st following the year they met said demands

Section 5:
1.)Both sides will agree upon a defintion of the "Palestinian government" for purposes of complying
    with this act. Thie definition will be used in determining eligibility for aid based on the requirements
     and restrictions outlined in previous sections.
2.) No aid will be resumed to either side until a definition is agreed upon.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Don't Senators have 24 hours to object before my amendments actually apply as friendly amendments?

Technically, but its not hard to catch the PPT napping

[DownWithTheLeft]

As much as I hate being diplomatic, I accept as friendly

[DownWithTheLeft]

Yes, I like the principal and love the open-endedness

[DownWithTheLeft]

Alright, I will trust your judgement on this, I gather as well that we have at least 5 senators surely in favor and only one who has expressed the desire to vote against it.

So here it goes...

I call for cloture

[DownWithTheLeft]

I urge all Senators to vote against this Bill. 

reason please.

The Palestinians are not forced to bend over while being paddled by the Israelis

[DownWithTheLeft]

Why do we need to help Palestinians to tougher standards rather than equal ones?