Senate Republicans looking to slash aid to Palestinians
A Senate panel will consider a provision to cut US assistance to the Palestinian Authority by the amount the PA pays to prisoners in Israeli jails and their families.
Republicans in the Senate are preparing to push new restrictions on Palestinian aid that have already cleared the House with bipartisan support.
Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., are seeking to cut US assistance by the amount paid to prisoners in Israeli custody and their families, according to an amendment to the Senate spending bill for State and Foreign Operations obtained by Al-Monitor.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark up the State and Foreign Operations spending bill on June 19.
The amendment calls for the Department of State to reduce funding to the "West Bank and Gaza by an amount the Secretary determines is equivalent to that expended by the Palestinian Authority in payments to individuals and the families of such individuals that are imprisoned for acts of terrorism or who died committing such acts during the previous calendar year."
