The most dangerous political landmine the White House is trying to dismantle these days is the bill calling for a total freeze on American financial support for the Palestinian Authority, as long as the PA does not stop paying salaries to prisoners convicted of terrorist acts who sitting in Israeli jails, according to a report in Ha’aretz Sunday. The bill, dubbed the Taylor Force Law after the former American officer killed by an Arab terrorist in Jaffa in March 2016, was initiated by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.
Last week, according to Ha’aretz, President Trump’s special envoy to the peace process, Jason Greenblatt, launched efforts to enlist political support in Congress for the peace initiative the President wants to promote in the coming months. Greenblatt will arrive in the region soon, to discuss the American initiative with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Meanwhile, the special envoy has been busy promoting the plan with Democrats and Republicans who support the two-state solution in the House and Senate, and with representatives of Jewish organizations, mainly rightwing.
Ha’aretz mentions three Republicans Greenblatt met with last Thursday: Rep Jimmy Duncan from Tennessee, who was one of a smattering of Republicans who signed a letter calling on Trump to embrace the two-state solution; Rep Jeff Fortenberry from Nebraska, who in March submitted a bill to establish an international fund to support Israeli-Palestinian coexistence, reminiscent of a similar fund that was established in Northern Ireland in the 1990s; and Rep Charlie Dent from Pennsylvania, who in 2012 wrote that he was “deeply troubled” with the UN vote granting non-member observer status to the Palestinians, suggesting the move, along with the granting the PA full membership in UNESCO, “undermines the need for direct bilateral negotiations.”
So, obviously, this would be an uphill battle (so to speak) for Greenblatt. Republican legislators, who usually support President Trump, will not necessarily rush to back him on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, about which there is little daylight between the Republican Party and Israel’s Habayit Hayehudi party. Democrats, who are more likely to support a two-state deal, may not be too eager to support Trump on anything, if they wish to be reelected come 2018.
Greenblatt also held meetings with several rightwing Jewish organizations to explain the Administration’s plans regarding the peace process. Last Wednesday he met with the Republican Jewish Committee, Sheldon Adelson’s brainchild (and supported relative). Adelson strongly opposed the Obama Administration’s attempts to promote a two-state agreement. A senior US official (Greenblatt?) told Ha’aretz that “Greenblatt stressed at the meeting that the President is committed to trying to promote peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but made clear that any peace agreement must be the result of direct negotiations between the parties at some point in the future.”
“Greenblatt also said that while the United States is committed to helping the sides reach an agreement, ultimately the Israelis and the Palestinians will have to agree on the terms of the agreement and the US will not impose a deal on either side,” the same senior official reiterated.
Naturally. Which is why Prime Minister Netanyahu has been freezing Israeli settlement housing starts as if the Obama Administration is still at the helm in Washington.
On Thursday, Greenblatt met with the leadership of the OU, reassuring them the president has no intention of forcing Israel to give up anything it didn’t wish to give up. At the same time, the special envoy “made it clear that the President sees this as a top priority, and as far as he is concerned, it is part of his overall commitment to help Israel and make it stronger and more secure,” a source who was in the meeting with Greenblatt told Ha’aretz.
So it’s down to Lindsey Graham’s Taylor Force Bill, which has received the blessing of PM Netanyahu and has been gathering bipartisan support in the Senate. Secretary of State Tillerson has already reassured everyone willing to listen that Abbas has agreed to stop those payments to terrorists – which was followed by Abbas sending out yet another round of pay-to-slay checks. Those payments are the law in the PA since 2011 – even if Abbas wanted to stop them, and risk assassination, he couldn’t.
Which is why Greenblatt met on Thursday (a very busy day for the special envoy, apparently) with Senator Graham – forging an “if Mohammed won’t stop paying terrorists, let’s make the mountain stop asking him to” kind of adage.
Greenblatt—with the help of AIPAC—reportedly requested a change in Taylor Force: instead of cutting all funds to a government that pays murderers—with rates that go up according to how many innocent civilians any given terrorist had slain, why not have the bill merely adjust US support to the PA by the amount the PA pays out to its sanctioned murderers.
Clearly, not punishing the PA for rewarding murderers of innocent Jews would be a testimony to Trump’s and Greenblatt’s “overall commitment to help Israel and make it stronger and more secure.” We are starting to feel more secure already.