RAMALLAH, West Bank — Although the United States has slashed funding to the Palestinian territories, the Palestinian security services continue to receive American assistance. In a recently released report, the US State Department praises the efforts by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to prevent terrorist operations against Israel.

The report notes the PA has “continued its counterterrorism and law enforcement efforts in the West Bank, where Hamas, PIJ [Palestinian Islamic Jihad], and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine [PFLP] remained present.” It further states, “The PA Security Forces (PASF) constrained the ability of those organizations to conduct attacks, including through arrests of Hamas members planning attacks against Israelis.”

The State Department also noted Washington's own efforts. “The United States assisted the PA’s counterterrorism efforts by providing training, equipment, and infrastructure support to the PASF. US training and support assisted in the PA’s continued development of professional, self-sufficient, and capable security forces. The US also assisted the PA with criminal justice investigations and prosecutions of terrorist financing and terrorist-related activity.”

Yet the Donald Trump administration has frozen financial aid to Palestinians for infrastructure development, civil society projects and to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The most recent cut was on Sept. 14, when the administration halted $10 million in funding for programs designed to promote goodwill between young Palestinians and Israelis.