{"id":2210792,"date":"2024-04-01T16:39:03","date_gmt":"2024-04-01T20:39:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congress-mandates-increased-oversight-on-states-palestinian-affairs-office\/"},"modified":"2024-04-01T16:39:36","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T20:39:36","slug":"congress-mandates-increased-oversight-on-states-palestinian-affairs-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congress-mandates-increased-oversight-on-states-palestinian-affairs-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress Requires More Oversight of State&#8217;s Palestinian Affairs Office"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/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%2Fcongress-mandates-increased-oversight-on-states-palestinian-affairs-office%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=2210792&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--><p>The Office of Palestinian Affairs faces increased oversight by Congress following controversy over calling on \u2063Israel to\u2063 stand down\u2062 after a Hamas \u2063terror attack. Congress has mandated Secretary of State Antony Blinken to report regularly on the office&#8217;s activities, including \u2064funding\u200c and public messaging. The move\u2063 comes after criticism and \u2063accusations of\u2064 undermining Israel&#8217;s stance. \u200bThe\u200c scrutiny of the Office of Palestinian Affairs\u2063 by \u2063Congress\u2063 has\u2062 intensified due to its request for Israel to \u2064stand down post a Hamas attack. Secretary of State\u200d Antony Blinken is now required to provide\u2064 periodic reports \u2064on\u2064 the office&#8217;s operations, finances, and \u2063communication strategies. This\u2064 action follows backlash and claims of jeopardizing Israel&#8217;s position.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>Office of Palestinian Affairs under fire for calling on Israel to stand down hours after Hamas terror attack<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tSecretary of State Antony Blinken (Amir Levy\/Getty Images)\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Congress is increasing its oversight on the State Department\u2019s Office of Palestinian Affairs (OPA), which urged Israel to stand down and avoid &#8220;retaliatory attacks&#8221; just hours after Hamas&#8217;s terror attack on the country that left 1,200 dead.<\/p>\n<p>Included in Congress\u2019s trillion-dollar spending <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/us-congress-averts-government-shutdown-passing-12-trillion-bill-2024-03-23\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">package<\/a>, which was passed last month and signed by President Joe Biden, is a provision aimed at reining in public messaging produced by the Office of Palestinian Affairs, a diplomatic office established by the Biden administration in 2022 that acts independently of the U.S. ambassador\u2019s office in the country. When the diplomatic office was created, <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/biden-admin-takes-major-step-to-roll-back-trumps-jerusalem-embassy-move\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">critics accused<\/a> the State Department of trying to undermine the Trump administration\u2019s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel\u2019s undivided capital.<\/p>\n<p>The oversight <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.house.gov\/billsthisweek\/20240318\/Division%20F%20SFOPs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">measure<\/a> requires Secretary of State Antony Blinken to issue a report to Congress every 90 days on the Palestinian Affairs Office\u2019s funding expenditures, including its social media activity, &#8220;public diplomacy programs,&#8221; and other initiatives administered by the office.<\/p>\n<p>The Palestinian Affairs Office drew <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/biden-admin-deletes-tweet-instructing-israel-to-stand-down-amid-hamas-terror\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">outrage<\/a> in the immediate aftermath of Hamas\u2019s Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel when it issued a tweet calling on Israel to stand down from any retaliatory strikes. &#8220;We urge all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks. Terror and violence solve nothing,&#8221; the office wrote on X, formerly Twitter.<\/p>\n<p>The message was deleted following a wave of criticism from Republican lawmakers and pro-Israel advocates who accused the Biden administration of abandoning Israel as it faced the worst terror strike in its history.<\/p>\n<p>The State Department told the <em>Washington <\/em><em>Free Beacon<\/em> at the time that the missive was erased because it &#8220;was not approved and does not represent U.S. policy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said lawmakers will be keeping a close eye on the office as the Biden administration leans on Israel to ink a ceasefire with Hamas, walking back its initial full-throated support for the Jewish state.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I have called for every person involved in drafting and approving the OPA tweet to be fired, but that will have to wait for an administration that isn&#8217;t stacked with Israel-hating activists,&#8221; Cruz told the <em>Free Beacon<\/em>. &#8220;In the meantime, Republicans will have to keep expanding oversight over the Biden administration&#8217;s insanity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Cruz said it is outrageous that &#8220;in the opening minutes of October 7, while Hamas terrorists were in the process of committing mass atrocities against over a thousand people, including dozens of Americans, the Office of Palestinian Affairs called for Israel to stand down.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Asked about the oversight measure, a State Department spokesman told the <em>Free Beacon<\/em> that it will abide by the law.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Department of State and its offices, including OPA, fully comply with all legislative requirements enacted by Congress,&#8221; the spokesman said.<\/p>\n<p>The Palestinian Affairs Office has been responsible for doling out taxpayer funds on projects with regional partners.<\/p>\n<p>In October of last year, following Hamas\u2019s attack, the <em>Free Beacon<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/the-white-house-says-it-does-extensive-work-to-avoid-funding-to-terror-supporters-state-department-grants-say-otherwise\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> that the office awarded $160,000 to a Palestinian university known to support Hamas and that praised the group\u2019s militants as &#8220;martyrs.&#8221; The grant, issued to Al-Quds University, provided funding through 2024 to &#8220;disadvantaged students&#8221; and Palestinian entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n<p>In May of last year, the Palestinian Affairs Office <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/u-s-offers-palestinians-100k-to-promote-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-arts-and-sports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">administered<\/a> a $100,000 taxpayer-funded grant program for Palestinian groups that &#8220;promote diversity, equity, inclusion.&#8221; Former U.S. officials described the program as &#8220;tone deaf,&#8221; since it came at a time when Palestinian terrorists were firing rockets into Israel.<\/p>\n<p>The State Department defended the funding initiative, telling the <em>Free Beacon<\/em> at the time: &#8220;Our Office of Palestinian Affairs is focused on engagement with and outreach to Palestinians, including through cultural affairs grants. Investing in civil society and people-to-people ties is a critical part of diplomatic outreach and efforts to promote peace, and even more imperative at times of heightened tensions.&#8221;\t<\/p>\n<p>A senior congressional aide who works on State Department oversight issues said the Palestinian Affairs Office is just one cog in an anti-Israel machine operating within the State Department\u2019s Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) Bureau.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Biden administration stacked NEA with vicious career activists who make The Squad look pro-Israel,&#8221; said the source, who was not authorized to speak on record. &#8220;They fund pro-Hamas organizations like UNRWA and use their public platforms to spread pro-Hamas propaganda. Republicans defunded UNRWA and are going to continue scrutinizing what they&#8217;re spreading publicly, and if we have to we&#8217;ll defund those too.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Office of Palestinian Affairs faces scrutiny for urging Israel to stand down after a Hamas terror attack. Secretary of State Antony Blinken&#8217;s call for restraint sparked controversy. Congress is intensifying scrutiny over the State Department&#8217;s handling of Palestinian affairs, amid calls to avoid retaliatory actions following the incident<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":2210793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/us-secretary-of-state-blinken-visits-israel-e1701894687911.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2210792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/us-secretary-of-state-blinken-visits-israel-e1701894687911.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2210792","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=2210792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2210792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2210793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2210792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2210792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2210792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}