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