RAMALLAH, West Bank — President Mahmoud Abbas instructed the Palestinian government to send a message in January to the US government in which it requested ending the US aid program for the Palestinian security agencies, Secretary-General of the PLO Saeb Erekat said at a press conference Jan. 31 in Ramallah, in the presence of Al-Monitor.

Erekat said the decision is to avert any potential lawsuits filed against the Palestinian government at US courts in accordance with a new anti-terrorism bill — the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018 — passed by the US Congress. The law, which entered into force Feb. 1, states that any foreign entity benefiting from US funding is subject to American anti-terrorism laws.

This latest step was preceded by the US administration’s decision to cut $25 million worth of aid to Palestinian hospitals in East Jerusalem in September 2018. The United States has also ended its contributions to the budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, amounting to about $370 million, in addition to its funding of health care, education and infrastructure projects.

Al-Monitor tried to contact several Palestinian security sources, but they refused to comment, saying they are not authorized to speak to the media.