| | | Coronavirus relief bill gives $250,000,000 to ‘Palestinians’
DEC 22, 2020 9:30 AM BY ROBERT SPENCER
It restricts the money from going to the “Palestinian” government or to jihad terror groups, but money is fungible. If you give me something for food and say “Don’t use it for terrorism,” I can honor your request while still using other money that I had planned to use for food for terrorism instead. This is a basic point that seems to elude our moral superiors.
Yes, the bill gives money to Israel as well. There are no restrictions on funding for Israel and no one need fear that the Israelis will fund terrorism. However, none of this funding should be in the bill. It should be for the relief of Americans only, as only Americans are paying for it.
“Coronavirus Stimulus Bill Funds Hundreds of Millions in Aid to Palestinians,” by Joel B. Pollak, Breitbart, December 21, 2020 (thanks to Ken):
The coronavirus relief bill released Monday includes $250 million in investment aid for the Palestinians and for encouraging Israeli-Palestinian dialogue in a provision titled the “Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act of 2020.”
The provision, named for retiring Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), is buried deep within the nearly 6,000-page legislative text.
Citing economic stagnation in the Palestinian Territories, and the potential for economic development to encourage peace, the Lowey Act would spend $50 million per year for the next five years. A version of the act passed the House in July….
The act prohibits the funding from being used to aid any foreign government, including the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). It also prohibits funds from being given to any group deemed to be involved in, or encouraging, terrorist activity.
Congress limited funding to the Palestinian Authority in 2018 under the Taylor Force Act, which prevents U.S. taxpayer dollars from going to the Palestinian government while it continues to pay stipends to terrorists and their families.
President Donald Trump has also cut other forms of U.S. funding to the Palestinians. His Middle East peace plan, introduced earlier this year, provides for a two-state solution, on condition that the Palestinian state be demilitarized and reject terrorism. |
|
