At the same time, a special report by the EU’s Court of Auditors discovered that more than 90 million euros in fuel subsidies have simply vanished. Moreover, the EU report concluded, Europe is paying salaries for approximately 61,000 civil servants and members of the security forces–who do not even report to work. In one office, the National Audit Institute of Palestine, a check confirmed that 90 staffers out of 125 could not be located.
When the PA revealed it had been secretly engineering a reunification with Hamas, bright red lights immediately began flashing across Congress. Hamas has long been deemed a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Settled federal legislation prohibits funding FTOs.
“At this point, the law is clear, their actions are clear, and the path forward is clear,” Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) said immediately after news of the Hamas-PA union became known. Lowey is the ranking Democrat on the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. The only thing that would stop her from the defunding path, she added, “would be if Abbas were to reverse course on the agreement with Hamas.” Subcommittee chairperson Kate Granger (R-TX) echoed Lowey’s statements.
When PA president Mahmoud Abbas declined to back away from the union, and Hamas proclaimed it would never abandon military actions or recognize Israel, various bipartisan groupings of representatives and senators across the spectrum began openly saying out loud what had previously only been mumbled.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) released a statement that he would immediately move to defund the PA if the new Hamas-PA entity did not agree to recognize Israel in five weeks. Numerous other legislators have signaled their readiness to vote for similar legislation now being formulated with competing wording. Senate Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce (D-CA) told a Jewish group last week that he would also support halting all PA funding if incitement is not curtailed.
Even if the Hamas-PA unity deal is cancelled, at least twenty House members say they are ready to completely defund the PA unless the monthly terrorist salaries cease.
Granger and Lowey, the top two House appropriators, dispatched a joint warning to Abbas about reunification with Hamas. “We have been strong supporters of aid to the Palestinian Authority in the hopes of ensuring prosperity, stability, and peace for the Palestinian people and all people in the region,” they wrote. “However, our ability to support current and future aid would be severely threatened if you abandon direct negotiations with Israel and continue with your current efforts.”
With talk of defunding legislation mushrooming through Congress, two salient moves have now emerged. Plan A: If the reunification with Hamas goes forward, federal law requires immediate defunding. Legislators may be forced to comply. Plan B: Even if the reunification is scrapped, federal law requires immediate defunding unless the monthly prisoner salaries cease. Legislators may be forced to comply.