{"id":2002107,"date":"2023-08-16T05:05:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T09:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-raised-concerns-palestinian-aid-would-boost-hamas-it-went-ahead-with-aid-anyway\/"},"modified":"2023-08-16T05:08:47","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T09:08:47","slug":"biden-admin-raised-concerns-palestinian-aid-would-boost-hamas-it-went-ahead-with-aid-anyway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-raised-concerns-palestinian-aid-would-boost-hamas-it-went-ahead-with-aid-anyway\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite concerns about Hamas, the Biden administration proceeded with Palestinian aid."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-admin-raised-concerns-palestinian-aid-would-boost-hamas-it-went-ahead-with-aid-anyway%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2002107&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<h2>The Biden Administration&#8217;s Controversial Palestinian Aid<\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The Biden administration pushed through plans to distribute hundreds of millions of dollars \u200bin taxpayer aid\u2063 to \u200cthe Palestinians despite internal assessments that those plans could boost the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/immigration-expert-blasts-biden-admin-over-claims-on-border-crisis-an-offense-to-human-intelligence\/\" title=\"Immigration Expert Blasts Biden Admin Over Claims On Border Crisis: \u2018An Offense To Human Intelligence\u2019\">internal documents obtained<\/a> by the <em>Washington\u2064 Free Beacon<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>State Department officials in 2021 outlined the concerns in\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/FL-2022-00043-June-2023-Production.pdf\">private communications<\/a>, asking the Treasury Department to \u2063exempt them from laws that bar the \u2062U.S.\u200c government from injecting taxpayer aid into territories controlled by Palestinian terror groups. The\u2064 Biden administration needed this authorization in order to move forward \u200cwith its <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/how-the-palestinians-pay-terrorists-as-biden-pumps-millions-of-aid-dollars-into-their-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/how-the-palestinians-pay-terrorists-as-biden-pumps-millions-of-aid-dollars-into-their-government\/&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1692217743978000&#038;usg=AOvVaw3xsx1Z-oJgZq2VtwwdSdVZ\">plans<\/a> to unfreeze more than $360 million in U.S. funds for the Palestinian Authority that were cut off during the Trump administration due\u200c to the authority&#8217;s support for terrorists.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We assess there\u2063 is a \u2064high risk Hamas could potentially derive indirect, unintentional benefit from U.S. assistance to Gaza. There is less but still some risk U.S. assistance would benefit other designated groups,&#8221; the State Department wrote \u200din a draft sanctions exemption request circulated internally in March 2021, shortly after Biden took office. &#8220;Notwithstanding this \u2062risk, State believes it is \u200cin our national security interest to provide assistance in the West Bank and Gaza to support the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-call-out-biden-admin-failure-over-disastrous-afghanistan-withdrawal\/\" title=\"Republicans call out Biden admin. failure over disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal\">foreign policy objectives<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The documents\u2014obtained through a Freedom of Information Act\u200d request\u200b filed \u200bby the watchdog group Protect the Public\u2019s Trust\u2014show the Biden administration \u200cwas privately worried its efforts to restart Palestinian aid could benefit Hamas and other terror \u200cfactions operating \u2064in the Gaza Strip. As officials\u200b publicly provided assurances to Congress and the press\u2062 that \u200bthis aid\u200c would be\u200d doled out &#8220;consistent with U.S. law,&#8221; \u2062the State Department was scrambling to \u2063secure a sanctions exemption that would let it skirt anti-terrorism laws.<\/p>\n<p>The State Department claimed it needed broad authorities to \u2063conduct work in the West Bank and Gaza Strip &#8220;that would otherwise be prohibited by the Global Terrorist Sanctions \u2063Regulations \u200band the Foreign Terrorist Organization\u2063 Sanctions Regulations,&#8221; according to a draft version of the request.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Such authorization \u2063would enable activities, including\u200b assistance activities, that are\u200b critical to\u200c support\u2064 the administration&#8217;s efforts to \u200badvance prosperity, security, and freedom for both Israelis \u2062and Palestinians and to advance and preserve the prospects of a negotiated solution in which Israel lives in peace and security alongside a viable Palestinian state,&#8221; according to the\u200c draft request.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-raised-concerns-palestinian-aid-would-boost-hamas-it-went-ahead-with-aid-anyway\/\" title=\"Despite concerns about Hamas, the Biden administration proceeded with Palestinian aid.\">previously unknown draft request adds credibility<\/a> to warnings from Republicans\u2063 at the time \u2063that aid would bolster terror \u200bgroups. In\u2062 April 2021, 18 Republicans led by Sen. Ted\u2064 Cruz (R., Texas) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cruz.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/sen-cruz-colleagues-slam-biden-admin-for-renewed-aid-despite-palestinian-authority-funding-for-terrorists\">sent a \u2063letter<\/a> to the administration calling for Palestinian aid to be halted until measures could \u200dbe put in place to prevent it from benefiting terrorists.<\/p>\n<p>The internal documents obtained by the <em>Free Beacon<\/em> include the draft of the exemption request as well as internal emails discussing the need for the Treasury Department to grant it. One email, sent to over a dozen State Department employees, said it was urgently needed to push the Biden administration\u2019s &#8220;foreign policy objectives,&#8221; which included an immediate resumption of funding to the Palestinian government.<\/p>\n<p>State Department officials said they did not specify what programs or activities they intended to fund \u2064if \u200cexempted from counterterrorism laws due to the need for &#8220;broad flexibility.&#8221; Instead, they would only provide the Treasury Department with &#8220;illustrative examples&#8221; including a list\u2063 of assistance projects totaling over $200 million, according to one of the emails.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2064 State Department also\u200b asked for the exemption to\u2062 be unclassified, &#8220;so relevant U.S. government agencies can share a copy with partners,&#8221; such as other governments \u2063and\u200b nonprofits.<\/p>\n<p>State\u2063 Department officials did not immediately return a request for comment on whether its \u200bassessment about the risk of U.S. aid bolstering Hamas was ultimately \u2063conveyed to the Treasury Department, or if the reference was deleted \u200bbefore the request was sent. The Treasury Department declined to comment on the\u2063 matter, citing a\u2062 policy of not discussing exemptions that may have been \u200dgranted.<\/p>\n<p>The\u200b administration ultimately moved forward with its plans to restart Palestinian aid, just months after the State Department\u2019s internal wrangling over the issue.<\/p>\n<p>One U.S. official familiar with \u2064the matter told the <em>Free Beacon<\/em> that the State Department&#8217;s early assessment of the risks of restarting aid should have given the Biden\u2062 administration pause.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The\u2063 fact that\u200d there\u2064 was a high risk that Hamas, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/palestinian-terrorists-issue-death-threat-on-american-reformer-as-biden-admin-seeks-closer-ties\/\" title=\"Palestinian Terrorists Issue Death Threat on American Reformer as Biden Admin Seeks Closer Ties\">designated foreign terrorist organization<\/a>, would benefit from U.S. assistance should have been enough to at least give the administration some\u200d pause in \u200dresuming aid, \u2062if not keep it\u200d from restarting it altogether,&#8221; said the official, who would only discuss the matter on background.<\/p>\n<p>As the administration began pumping hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars into the Palestinian government\u2019s coffers, Republicans in Congress <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/how-the-palestinians-pay-terrorists-as-biden-pumps-millions-of-aid-dollars-into-their-government\/\">claimed<\/a> the funding ran afoul of additional U.S. laws as well.<\/p>\n<p>Under the Taylor Force Act, a bipartisan 2018\u2063 law, the United States is barred from awarding funds to the Palestinian government until it stops paying salaries to imprisoned \u200bterrorists and their families, a\u2062 policy known\u200b as &#8220;pay to slay.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The State Department said in a non-public 2022 report to Congress that the Palestinian government \u2063&#8221;continued payments to\u2063 Palestinian prisoners \u200cwho had committed acts \u2062of terrorism,\u2062 as well \u2063as the families of so-called \u2018martyrs\u2019 who died while\u200d committing acts of terrorism.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public&#8217;s Trust, which <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/watchdog-sues-biden-admin-over-funding-for-palestinian-government\/\">sued<\/a> the administration for stonewalling \u200cits FOIA request, said the latest cache of internal State Department documents indicate the administration was aware its funding efforts could violate the law.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Taylor Force Act was a bipartisan effort to prevent\u2062 American taxpayer dollars from funding terrorists and rewarding terrorism,&#8221; Chamberlain said. &#8220;But here\u2064 it appears State\u2062 Department officials were \u2062trying to get around the law\u2019s restrictions and send resources in a manner that even\u2062 they thought was\u200b likely to result\u2063 in funds ending up in the\u2062 hands of a group designated as a terrorist organization.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration, he added, &#8220;talks a good game about respecting the rule of law and being the most ethical administration in\u200d history. But too often it is willing to ignore those ideals to advance a policy objective\u2014even when that objective may conflict with the law.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Biden administration proceeded with distributing taxpayer aid to the Palestinians, despite internal assessments warning of potential support for Hamas. Internal documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon reveal State Department officials expressing concerns about the plans and seeking guidance from the Treasury in 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":2002108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2002107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2002107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2002107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2002107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2002108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2002107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2002107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2002107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}