REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman The Palestinian Authority (PA) announced in a December 26 letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that they will no longer be accepting United States security funding as a result of the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act (ATCA).
PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah wrote in the letter that such U.S. aid to the PA is now a “dividing force” with the ATCA’s passage in October, since the law would hold the PA liable for Palestinian acts of terror against American citizens if they continue to accept U.S. funding after January 31.
“In the view of the Government of Palestine, the U.S. Judicial Branch has sole cognizance over these issues because they involve rights protected by the Constitution of the United States of America,” Hamdallah wrote. “Unfortunately, the ATCA has sought to convert these constitutional issues into political ones.”
Hamdallah continued, “In light of these developments, the Government of Palestine respectfully informs the United States Government that, as of January 31st, 2019, it fully disclaims and no longer wishes to accept any forms of assistance referenced in ATCA.”
I got a copy of the letter Palestinian PM @RamiHamdalla sent @SecPompeo renouncing US aid. Under a new anti-terror law, if the Palestinians take this money, it could force them to pay hundreds of millions of $ to compensate families of US victims of Palestinian attacks. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/TT9v5JmqOm
— Daniel Estrin (@DanielEstrin) January 18, 2019
According to the Times of Israel, the Trump administration provided more than $60 million in security aid to the PA in 2018.
The Jerusalem Post notes that between this announcement and the United States cutting more than $230 million in economic aid to the Palestinians as well as $300 million from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the latest announcement means just about all U.S. aid to the PA is gone.
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