Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
In a Twist, Trump Fights to Keep Some Palestinian Aid Alive
By admin
Published 6 years ago on
December 1, 2018

Share

WASHINGTON — For two years, the Trump administration has unabashedly slashed U.S. aid to the Palestinians. Now, amid signs it may finally roll out its long-awaited Middle East peace plan, the administration is scrambling to save what little remaining Palestinian assistance it provides.

Eliminating such aid, which totaled $61 million this year even as other assistance was being cut, would deal a blow to Palestinian-Israeli security cooperation that both sides value.
The striking turnabout is the result of the belated realization that an obscure new law will likely force the U.S. to terminate all aid to the Palestinian Authority, including security assistance supported by Israel, by the end of January. Eliminating such aid, which totaled $61 million this year even as other assistance was being cut, would deal a blow to Palestinian-Israeli security cooperation that both sides value. The law would also require the Jerusalem offices of the U.S. Agency for International Development to close.
To avert that possibility and remove a potentially lethal complication to the promised peace plan, the administration is rushing to find a solution. It will dispatch Army Lt. Gen. Eric Wendt, who serves as U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, to Congress in the coming days to urge lawmakers to come up with a fix to the law, known as the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018, to allow the aid to continue.
Congressional aides said they expect Wendt and other officials to start making the case next week in the hope of securing a fix in the short time it has left in session this year. The House and Senate are set to adjourn on Dec. 13 and Dec. 14, respectively. If that fails, officials said they expect to redouble their efforts when the new Congress convenes in January.

Disqualified From Receiving Any U.S. Aid Unless It Agrees to Pay Court Judgments

The State Department, to whom Wendt reports, declined to comment on the effort but acknowledged the problem.

“We are studying the potential impact of ATCA. At this time, no changes have been made to U.S. security assistance to the Palestinian Authority or other ongoing programming.”The State Department
“We are studying the potential impact of ATCA,” the department said in an emailed response to queries about the matter from The Associated Press. “At this time, no changes have been made to U.S. security assistance to the Palestinian Authority or other ongoing programming.”
ATCA made its way through Congress and was signed by President Donald Trump in early October with little fanfare. The White House perfunctorily announced the Oct. 3 signing in a two-paragraph statement that said only that the law “allows certain assets that are seized or frozen by the United States to be used to satisfy judgments against a terrorist party for claims based on an act of terrorism.
But for the Palestinians and potentially others the law has more severe consequences. Under ATCA, the Palestinian Authority would be disqualified from receiving any U.S. aid unless it agrees to pay court judgments of sometimes up to hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of American victims of Palestinian attacks. The deadline for accepting that condition is 120 days from Trump’s signing, or January 31, 2019.
The Palestinians say they will do no such thing and accuse the administration of acting in bad faith. They note that the administration has already cut hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for health, education, development and good governance programs, closed the PLO office in Washington, recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital over their fervent objections and moved the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv. In addition, the administration has downgraded its main diplomatic mission to the Palestinians by folding it into the embassy to Israel.

The Administration Is Siding With the Palestinians

“Palestinian-U.S. security cooperation is based on the fact that we are against terrorism and fighting it,” said Nabil Shaath, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s adviser for international affairs. “Therefore, nobody can say that such an act can be implemented on us.”

“Palestinian-U.S. security cooperation is based on the fact that we are against terrorism and fighting it. Therefore, nobody can say that such an act can be implemented on us.” — Nabil Shaath, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s adviser for international affairs
In this case, however, the administration is siding with the Palestinians in seeking a way around the requirements of the law. So are some pro-Israel members of Congress who have supported the administration’s policy toward Israel and the Palestinians in the past, according to aides.
Legal experts who have studied ATCA say the easiest fix would be to have Congress amend the law to allow the president or secretary of state to waive the aid cut-off on national security grounds.
“A waiver or some sort of work around is going to be very important for this administration or any future administration that wants to pursue Israeli-Palestinian peace,” said Scott Anderson, an international lawyer and former American diplomat who is now a fellow at The Brookings Institution in Washington. “Cutting off the ability to supply that kind of security assistance would be short-sighted to say the least.”

DON'T MISS

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Ejected From Car Dies Off McKinley Avenue

DON'T MISS

‘Leave It the Way It Is’: Off-Roaders, Hikers React to Proposal to Change 1.4M Acres of Sierra Forest

DON'T MISS

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

DON'T MISS

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

DON'T MISS

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

DON'T MISS

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

DON'T MISS

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

DON'T MISS

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

UP NEXT

Israel Ends Agreement With UN Agency Providing Aid in Gaza

UP NEXT

US Confirms Reports That Iran Arrested an Iranian-American Citizen

UP NEXT

Israel Says It Carried out Ground Raid Into Syria, Seizing a Syrian Citizen

UP NEXT

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

UP NEXT

North Korea’s Long-Range Missile Test Signals Its Improved, Potential Capability to Attack US

UP NEXT

Death Toll From Spanish Floods Climbs to 205 as Shock Turns to Anger and Frustration

UP NEXT

Visalia Rollerblader Suffered Major Injuries After Being Struck by Vehicle

UP NEXT

Fresno County Man Indicted for Possessing Stolen Guns

UP NEXT

Nearly a Quarter of Lebanese Border Villages Destroyed in Israel’s Military Campaign

UP NEXT

Waves of Rocket Fire From Lebanon Hit Israel, Killing 7 in Deadliest Strikes Since Israeli Invasion

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

5 hours ago

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

6 hours ago

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

6 hours ago

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

6 hours ago

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

6 hours ago

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

6 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

7 hours ago

Fresno Murder Suspect Stopped in Las Vegas, Others Wanted

7 hours ago

Trump’s Crowds Are Dwindling as His Campaign Winds Down

8 hours ago

Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on Mexico to Curb Immigration

8 hours ago

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

A driver suspected of being under the influence crashed into a California Highway Patrol car early Sunday, officials said. Officers were inv...

3 hours ago

A driver suspected of DUI crashed into a parked California Highway Patrol car at a fatal crash scene in Fresno County, sustaining minor injuries and later being cited. (Fresno County SO)
3 hours ago

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

fresno
3 hours ago

Fresno Man Ejected From Car Dies Off McKinley Avenue

4 hours ago

‘Leave It the Way It Is’: Off-Roaders, Hikers React to Proposal to Change 1.4M Acres of Sierra Forest

New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP/Ashley Landis)
5 hours ago

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

Voters cast their ballots at Desert Breeze Community Center in Las Vegas during the last day of in-person early voting in Nevada on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Nearly 75 million people have cast early ballots, making their voices heard amid worry about the process, the outcome and democracy itself. (Bridget Bennett/The New York Times)
6 hours ago

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

6 hours ago

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

6 hours ago

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

6 hours ago

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

Search

Send this to a friend