The Biden administration “quietly” sent over $3 million in taxpayer funds to the Hamas terrorist group-linked Palestinian Authority to support training for its “security forces” shortly before President Donald Trump took office.
The controversial payments were first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
According to the report, the Biden admin funneled the tax dollars after a watchdog group accused the Palestinian Authority of waging attacks on Israelis.
The United States has backed the Palestinian Authority for decades.
However, it recently emerged that the organization has been harboring covert ties to terrorists.
President Trump cut funding to the “government” in Gaza during his first term.
Yet, Biden instead prioritized building up the Palestinian Authority to play a role in Gaza’s future following the end of Israel’s war with Hamas.
Indeed, the Biden administration sent $3 million to the Palestinian Authority Security Forces (PASF) on January 3, according to the Free Beacon.
The payments were for “firearms and ammunition” training, records show.
The funding was part of a $20 million expenditure to support regional security in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Jordan.
It comes as the Palestinian Authority, following a rare crackdown on terrorists in the West Bank, seeks a $680 million four-year commitment from the United States to build up its security forces.
Despite the Palestinian Authority’s moderate image, the organization has been linked to multiple terrorist attacks.
A report from Palestinian Media Watch, a non-governmental organization associated with Israel, found that members of the PASF were behind dozens of attacks on Israelis.
Some PASF forces have been glorified as “martyrs” by terror groups like the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the report found.
While the U.S. has provided security assistance to the Palestinian Authority since the 1990s, its alleged softness toward terrorism has led some to question if it can maintain regional stability.
In a statement to the Free Beacon, Republican Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), former chair of the Foreign Affairs panel, said:
“The PASF have demonstrated an ongoing inability to maintain order in the West Bank, a fact made more concerning by emerging reports of the group’s ties to terrorism in the region.
“As everyone knows, money is fungible.”
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has pressed pause on all foreign aid.
The move is part of a wider effort to cut waste in government spending.
A State Department spokesman told the Free Beacon:
“The Department and USAID take their role as stewards of taxpayer dollars very seriously.”
In an overture to Trump, the Palestinian Authority has ended its so-called “pay-to-slay” program.
The program supports the families of Hamas terrorists.
Trump and Biden both claimed credit for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that was announced in January, shortly before Trump’s return to office.
However, Trump has been credited with securing the peace deal in the run-up to his inauguration.
Nevertheless, Trump has cast doubt on the ceasefire’s longevity.
It comes as Trump floats a plan for the U.S. to take control of and rebuild war-torn Gaza to secure permanent peace in the region.
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