Testifying before the U.S. House International Relations Committee\'s Middle East panel last Thursday, William Burns, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, said the State Department is going to rectify an official website which offers rewards for foreigners who murdered Americans abroad, but which omitted Palestinian murderers of US citizens.
State Department policy has been not to offer rewards for the death of Americans killed in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza because it \"would be detrimental to ongoing efforts to capture\" suspects \"and could increase the danger to American citizens and facilities overseas,\" according to a department report released in March. Morton Klein, National President of the Zionist Organization of America, said he was pleased by the decision. \"It\'s the most explicit and direct answer we\'ve ever gotten to the question of rewards,\" said Klein, who has been the driving force on the issue in the Jewish community. \"It\'s the first time there has been a clear and public declaration that rewards will soon be offered for the capture of the several dozen Palestinian Arabs who have murdered 18 American citizens.\" Klein said it is still unclear whether the administration is going to offer rewards or just post the information on the Web site.
State Department policy has been not to offer rewards for the death of Americans killed in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza because it \"would be detrimental to ongoing efforts to capture\" suspects \"and could increase the danger to American citizens and facilities overseas,\" according to a department report released in March. Morton Klein, National President of the Zionist Organization of America, said he was pleased by the decision. \"It\'s the most explicit and direct answer we\'ve ever gotten to the question of rewards,\" said Klein, who has been the driving force on the issue in the Jewish community. \"It\'s the first time there has been a clear and public declaration that rewards will soon be offered for the capture of the several dozen Palestinian Arabs who have murdered 18 American citizens.\" Klein said it is still unclear whether the administration is going to offer rewards or just post the information on the Web site.