House panel wants information on Americans’ killers

A key Congressional committee approved a bill requiring regular reviews of Palestinian efforts to catch the killers of three Americans murdered on a diplomatic mission in Gaza.The security contractors were killed in a blast in October 2003 while protecting U.S. diplomats seeking candidates in the Gaza Strip for Fulbright Scholarships.The U.S. House of Representatives bill proposed by Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) and approved Tuesday by the House Foreign Affairs Committee would require State Department reports every six months on Palestinian efforts to apprehend the killers.The killings soured American diplomats on assisting the Palestinians, and U.S. officials drastically reduced visits to Gaza following the attack. The State Department has dismissed previous Palestinian Authority efforts to apprehend the killers as not serious.