Congressional leaders are moving to respond to a last-minute transfer of millions of dollars to the Palestinian Authority by the Obama administration with a range of measures, including a possible total freeze of funds to the PA, according to senators and other sources who spoke to THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry endangered future funding to the PA by orchestrating the $221 million release in the final hours of the Obama administration, according to a report published Monday by the Associated Press and additional details provided to TWS. The release was made in spite of holds that had been placed on the funds by a number of lawmakers.
“I don’t know if we can recoup that money, but I intend to suspend future funding to the Palestinian Authority until they change their laws that reward young Palestinians for killing Israelis and Americans,” South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham told TWS.
Graham said he will reintroduce the Taylor Force Act, named after an Army veteran who was stabbed to death by a Palestinian terrorist last March, which cuts funding until the PA stops directly or indirectly financing terrorism. The PA set aside roughly $140 million to support imprisoned terrorists and their families in 2016, according to experts who spoke to Congress in July.
“I find that cruel and unacceptable,” Graham said. “I will be pushing to stop those payments.”
A congressional advisor who is working with Congress on Israeli-Palestinian issues in the aftermath of the $221 million release told TWS that lawmakers will retaliate against the move.
“Kerry just poisoned Congressional-Palestinian relations for the next decade just so he could move some cash out the door,” said the source. “Congress intends to make sure it wasn’t worth it.”
Florida senator Marco Rubio indicated that he would support Graham’s legislation and condemned the Obama administration for flouting the will of Congress.
“Hopefully we can get that reversed, and I’m confident with this new administration we won’t see anything like that happen again,” he said. “It’s kind-of the closing act of eight years of lawlessness, in many cases, where you just basically ignore the congressional will and the law and do whatever you want.”
Texas senator Ted Cruz, who partnered with Graham this month to censure an anti-Israel United Nations resolution, told TWS he is working with the Trump administration to undo destructive measures taken under Obama.
“On the way out the door the Obama administration did enormous amounts of damage to our relationship with Israel,” Cruz said. “One of the top priorities of the new administration, I hope and believe, will be to repair that damage. I am working closely with the new administration to do exactly that.”
Christians United for Israel, the country’s largest pro-Israel lobby, also pledged to continue pushing for legislation like Graham’s to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not fund terror.
“The PA is a state sponsor of terrorism—they send generous lifetime payments to terrorists and their families as an incentive to and reward for terror,” David Brog, CUFI’s founding executive director, told TWS. “So long as this practice continues they should not get one dime from the U.S. This is why CUFI is going to continue our strong support for the Taylor Force Act in this Congress.”
This post has been updated.
