The House International Relations Committee yesterday passed by a near unanimous vote new legislation barring almost any aid, except of the humanitarian variety, to the Palestinian Authority if it remains under the control of a terrorist organization.

By a vote of 36 to 2, the House panel passed the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, paving the way for the legislation, which has already attracted 79 co-sponsors in the Senate and 254 cosponsors in the House, according to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which supports the bill.

If signed into law, the legislation also would shut down the Palestine Liberation Organization’s offices in Washington and restrict the movement of the PLO’s representatives at the United Nations to a 25 mile radius. The provision is almost identical to the restrictions on travel for envoys from state sponsors of terrorism like Iran.

The legislation is in response to Hamas’s victory in January in the Palestinian Legislative Assembly, effectively putting the party – listed as a foreign terrorist organization – in control of the Palestinian Arab regime in Gaza and the West Bank.

Already, the White House has requested that $50 million it had intended to give the Palestinian Authority be returned. Also, the president and his secretary of state have said they would not fund the Palestinian Authority directly when Hamas takes power.

In response, the World Bank, along with wealthy Gulf states, have pledged money that would likely make up the difference from the aid withdrawn by America and the European Union.

The proposed legislation, however, also would restrict American diplomats from having contact with the Palestinian Authority while it is controlled by Hamas.

The bill does allow America to continue to give Palestinian Arab nongovernment organizations humanitarian aid. Any other aid projects, however, would have to be approved by congressional leaders on a case-by-case basis.