The practice was stopped by bipartisan legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in 2018, was named for US Army Veteran Taylor Force, who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists in 2016. The law prohibits the US from providing economic assistance that benefits the Palestinian Authority unless and until the secretary of state certifies that the group is not funding terrorism.
Terrorist attacks have been increasing since the Biden administration sent over half a billion US taxpayer dollars to the Palestinian Authority without verifying that the organization isn’t funding terrorism, according to a federal lawsuit.
The plaintiffs of the suit include victims of terror and Republican Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson. The suit is being led by the government watchdog group America First Legal (AFL).
The complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division, alleges that Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken "have transferred nearly half a billion American taxpayer dollars to directly benefit and subsidize the Palestinian Authority," and therefore have funded acts of terrorism.
Jackson, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in January after the suit was filed, “Joe Biden is breaking the law by allowing our tax dollars to fund terrorism in Israel, and he must be stopped. I have deep respect for my fellow plaintiffs who have been tragically and directly impacted by Pay to Slay, and I am proud to be on the same team as we hold this failed administration accountable."
According to the complaint, naming President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken as defendants for allegedly violating the Taylor Force Act, the plaintiffs are only seeking a judgment to force the government to comply with the law.
The State Department notified Congress in 2021 that it was “…unable to certify that the PA, the PLO, and any successor or affiliated organizations have met the requirements of the [Taylor Force Act]." That same month, Qadri Abu Bakr, the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s Commissioner for Prisoners’ Affairs admitted to paying approximately $181 million in bounties.
The agency notified Congress again in October 2022, that it has not verified if the Palestinian Authority has ceased its funding of terrorism.
However, Blinken announced in May 2021 that over $360 million in US taxpayer funds would benefit the Palestinian Authority. According to the suit, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas authorized a payment of $42,000 to the family of a terrorist who killed two Israelis in June 2021.
The parents of Taylor Force said in a statement to Fox News, "President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken are dishonoring the memory and legacy of a good man and ignoring the citizens of the United States who understand that taxpayer dollars should not be used to fund the killing of innocent civilians."
The two Israelis who were murdered on Sunday in the terrorist attack in the town of Huwara in the northern West Bank were brothers Hillel Menachem and Yigal Ya’acov Yaniv.
The terrorist, who escaped the scene and is still being sought by authorities, used a car to ram into an Israeli vehicle that was driving through the town and then shot the two passengers at close range, according to the Jerusalem Post.
According to the outlet, Palestinians handed out sweets in Nablus, Jenin, and the Gaza Strip to celebrate the attack.
Following the attack, Israel’s Ministerial Committee on Legislation approved a bill that would institute the death penalty for terrorists.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a joint statement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “On this difficult day, when two Israeli citizens are murdered in a Palestinian terrorist attack, there is nothing more symbolic than passing the death penalty for terrorists’ law. This is a moral law, and [it is] fair, which exists in the largest democracy in the world and all the more so in a country where a wave of terrorism is [targeting] Israeli citizens.”
