Republicans have had mixed reactions to the early details of the Trump budget proposal, but while they may disagree about how much the U.S. should be spending on foreign aid, there are many in the party eager to slash at least one portion of that funding: The money going to the Palestinian Authority.
Top Republicans from Congress huddled in Washington on Tuesday, formulating legislation that would sever U.S. aid to the Palestinian government. Proponents of the cut argue that this money is simply being used to finance anti-Israeli terrorism, endangering our allies as well as American citizens.
“We can’t continue to financially support a government who looks to the so-called martyrs schedule,” said Sen. Roy Blunt, one of the masterminds behind the Taylor Force Act, named in memory of an American killed by Palestinian terrorists. “It’s an outrageous concept to be in law anywhere. You can either stop doing what you’re doing or you won’t have our money at least to do it with.”
Blunt is referring to Palestinian Authority policy, which is to pay a salary to the families left behind by suicide bombers and terrorists imprisoned by the Israelis. And, since the government receives some $300 million from the United States every year, it’s not a stretch to say that the American taxpayer is indirectly funding Islamic terrorism. And even if that’s an exaggeration, we’re certainly not flexing our financial muscles the way we could be – thus actively keeping the terror train rolling.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, President Trump is willing and ready to sign the bill if passed. They spoke to a senior White House official who said, “The Palestinian Authority’s use of its resources to provide material support for terrorism—indiscriminately targeted at American and Israeli civilians—is a grotesque example of how well-intentioned U.S. generosity can be turned against us.”
This was a measure the Obama administration fought for eight years, and it’s long past due. Funding the enemies of Israel is almost like funding direct enemies of the United States. It makes no sense, it weakens our global authority, and it makes any peace talk efforts that much harder.
When Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump are on the same page, what’s left to debate?
