[JPost] Congressional Republicans put a hold on $75 million of the newly reinstated US aid to the Paleostinians, two sources in Washington confirmed on Thursday.UNRWA Praises New US Aid For #Palestinians at ‘Critical Moment’ https://t.co/BMzPWojBce
— Asharq Al-Awsat English (@aawsat_eng) April 8, 2021
On March 26, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) sent Congress a "program narrative" of about $75m. in Economic Support Funds (ESF) for programs in the West Bank and Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
that would begin 15 days after the notification was received.
Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), used their respective positions as ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and lead Republican of the House Foreign Affairs Committee to stop the USAID’s notification about the reinstated funding from reaching the committees, which means the aid will not start on April 10 as planned.
The USAID programs for the Paleostinians include roads, sidewalks, bus lots, emergency preparedness, adapting to climate change, "community initiatives" and "safe spaces to engage in community initiatives."
On Wednesday, the State Department announced a financial package of $290m. for the Paleostinians, including security and humanitarian aid
, as well as funding for UNRWA, the UN agency for Paleostinian refugees and their descendants.Risch and McCaul said, shortly after the announcement, that "resuming assistance to the West Bank and Gaza without concessions from the Paleostinian Authority undermines US interests.
"The PA is spending millions annually to compensate forces of Evil while the international community pays for the well-being of the Paleostinian people," they stated. "A recent Government Accountability Office report rightly calls for increased oversight of Paleostinian assistance to ensure compliance with anti-terrorism policies. The Biden administration should use all available leverage to secure behavior changes from the PA, including ending terror payments."
They added that they would ensure that the government’s move to reinstate aid does not violate the Taylor Force Act, which outlawed most aid to the Paleostinian Authority as long as it continues its "pay-for-slay" scheme, in which Paleostinian forces of Evil receive monthly stipends, corresponding in size to the severity of their crimes.
The GAO report Risch and McCaul referenced, released on March 19, stated that USAID "did not consistently ensure" its grants given in 2015-2019 did not reach forces of Evil and terrorist groups. The GAO recommended that USAID "(1) verify prime awardees have procedures to ensure compliance with requirements before making sub-awards and (2) conduct post-award compliance reviews in time to make corrections before the awards end."