More than $200 million in economic aid will be withheld from the Hamas-Palestinian Authority unitary government and redirected elsewhere.
On Friday, a State Department spokesperson said the administration wanted “to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with U.S. national interests.” The State Department spokesman went on to say the decision to “redirect” funds to different “high-priority projects” was a result of a review conducted beginning in June in light of the Taylor Force Act.
The Palestinian Authority has long given stipends to the families of dead terrorists who carried out successful terror attacks against Jews, and they’ve used aid from U.S.-taxpayers in order to pay these stipends. The Taylor Force Act’s purpose is to pressure the Palestinian Authority to end this disgusting practice, or risk losing more aid.
The administration also suspended $65 million in aid from UNRWA in January.
Agencies like UNRWA continue to argue that cutting off aid to the Palestine Authority will harm Palestinians living in Area A. However, the State Department said the decision following the review acknowledged “the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza’s citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation.”