US’s plans to restore aid to Palestinians « fully comply with law »

US's plans to restore aid to Palestinians "fully comply with law"
Palestinian man outside UN's Palestinian refugee agency in Gaza City (AFP/File photo)

Trump-era legislation will not obstruct plans to restore aid to Palestinians or re-open diplomatic missions

Middle East Eye Resuming US aid to Palestinians will not violate legislation against US funds being allocated to the Palestinian Authority (PA) over its welfare payments to the families of those imprisoned by Israel, a State Department spokesperson said.

The official provided the clarification to media following allegations by Republican lawmakers that the administration’s plans to resume US aid to Palestine would violate the 2018 Taylor Force Act.

« In administering aid, the Biden-Harris administration will fully comply with US law, including the Taylor Force Act, » a State Department spokesperson said in a media statement.

Earlier this week, Richard Mills, acting US ambassador to the UN, announced that the Biden administration plans to restore US aid to Palestine and re-open Palestinian diplomatic missions in Washington that were shuttered under former president Donald Trump.

Following Mills’s announcement, Republican Senator Tom Cotton told the Washington Free Beacon that any resumption of aid to the PA would inadvertently provide the government with funds that would be used to continue its prisoner welfare programme.

« The resumption of any US foreign assistance that indirectly funds the Palestinian Authority’s pay-for-slay terrorist program would violate US law, betray our Israeli partners, and put Americans living in or visiting Israel in harm’s way, » Cotton said.

Palestinians view suspects jailed in Israel as prisoners of war held by an illegal occupation force. The funds, the PA says, are welfare payments made to support political prisoners and their families.

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Inondations en Libye : TotalEnergies mobilisée pour soutenir la population libyenne

Paris, 18 septembre 2023 – Suite aux inondations dévastatrices survenues en Libye la semaine dernière, TotalEnergies a répondu dès les premières heures de la tragédie à l’appel de la compagnie nationale libyenne National Oil Corporation et a mobilisé des moyens logistiques terrestres et aériens pour apporter une aide d'urgence pour les milliers de personnes affectées par la catastrophe dans la région de Derna, à l'est du pays.

A ce jour, TotalEnergies a expédié près de 50 tonnes de produits de première nécessité, notamment des fournitures médicales, des colis alimentaires dont de l’alimentation infantile, des kits d'hygiène, et des lampes solaires. Environ 50 tonnes additionnelles de produits de première nécessité seront envoyées au cours des prochains jours.

Cette opération est menée par une équipe dédiée de TotalEnergies, en coordination avec la National Oil Corporation et le Croissant Rouge, avec acheminement des produits par camion depuis Tripoli et par avion depuis Paris.