Six United States legislators have introduced a bill aimed at creating a fund to promote Israel-Palestinian co-existence projects. Dubbed the Partnership Fund for Peace Act of 2019, the bipartisan bill would in part circumvent US President Donald Trump’s decision to cut off hundreds of millions of dollars to the Palestinian Authority.
The move by Congress comes amid a major dispute between the White House and the PA, which has been boycotting US officials since President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017. The Palestinian leadership has also refused to engage in any US-mediated peace process, and Palestinian officials have confirmed they will not attend a workshop later this month in Bahrain geared toward generating investment for the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Palestinians say the political track must be addressed first.
The Media Line spoke with Martin Himel, an award-winning journalist, on the issue of the bill.
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