Palestinians To Refuse All U.S. Funds, Including Those Designated For Security Cooperation With Israel

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has informed the Trump administration that it will no longer accept any American aid, including funds earmarked for security cooperation with Israel. The move was taken to avoid exposing the PA to potential financial liability as stipulated by the 2018 Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act, passed by Congress in October and which is set to take effect this month. The law states that if the PA accepts such assistance then American courts would have jurisdiction to hold it accountable for terrorism against U.S. citizens and render judgments including huge monetary fines. President Donald Trump last year suspended hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to the Palestinians after Ramallah imposed a boycott on U.S. officials in the wake of his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The Palestinian leadership is slated to hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the latest setback, as well as the likelihood that USAID will terminate all projects in the Palestinian territories by January 31.