Barak Ravid, a political correspondent for Israel’s Channel 13, revealed Nov. 6 that US President Donald Trump turned down in June Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand to transfer funds to the Palestinian security services. Trump’s decision came despite Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer asking the US State Department to transfer the sum of $12 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which had neither been stopped nor transferred amid its aid cuts, by communicating this request to the White House. The latter is authorized to ratify financial transfers, Ravid said.

Ravid cited prominent US officials whom he did not name saying that they gave Trump Netanyahu’s message, which indicated that the financial aid to the Palestinian security aims at bolstering Israeli-Palestinian security coordination and halting any armed Palestinian attacks on Israel. Trump responded, “Halting financial aid to Palestinians will remain on hold as long as they do not resume negotiations with Israel. If money transfer is that important for Netanyahu, let him pay from his own pockets.”

The US stance reflects deteriorating relations with the PA. In January, this deterioration reached its peak, when the US administration halted all aid to the PA, and in February stopped support for security institutions, to pressure the PA into accepting the "deal of the century" as a solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

The budget of the Palestinian security institution comes from different parties, whether from the general budget of the PA or US support. The exact amount is unknown. But since the PA is undergoing a tough financial crisis, expenditure for security institutions have suffered.