A Texas federal judge advanced a lawsuit to prove the Biden Administration knowingly sent U.S. funds to Palestine, which runs the risk of ending up in the hands of terrorists.
This week, Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk granted a win for America First Legal (AFL), which filed a lawsuit in 2022, alleging that the Biden Administration and Secretary of State Antony Blinken green-lighted payments to the Palestinian Authority. AFL claimed that a billion American taxpayer dollars were sent to “directly benefit and subsidize the Palestinian Authority” despite acknowledging it still operates its "Pay to Slay" program.
During the Trump Administration, the 45th president froze funds following the Taylor Force Act. This federal law prohibits the government from sending American taxpayer dollars to the Palestinian Authority if it supports terrorist activity.
Kacsmaryk said that the AFL’s "recent production of records shows that the Government knew its economic support fund (ESF) funding in the West Bank and Gaza was benefiting Palestinian terrorists, thereby ‘increasing the risk of terrorist attacks against the Plaintiffs and others similarly situated.’ They aver that the Government's ‘admission that its activities in the West Bank and Gaza benefit Hamas suggests, with reasonable particularity, the possible existence of other facts, currently hidden, establishing traceability.’ These reasons, in concert with Hamas's recent attack on Israel that killed fourteen Americans and resulted in others being held hostage, provide a sufficient basis for Plaintiff's Request," the order read.
More from the lawsuit:
Under Pay to Slay, the Palestinian Authority rewards terrorists and/or their families with increased rewards in proportion to the casualties inflicted. Terrorists who are married, or have children, or are Israeli residents/citizens receive an additional payment. Terrorists who spend more than five years (in a single term or cumulatively) in prison are paid a guaranteed salary by the Palestinian Authority for the rest of their lives. Every terrorist, regardless of their affiliations or the identity of their victims, is paid by the Palestinian Authority. This includes members of designated terror organizations, such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who kill U.S. citizens.
Congress previously prohibited providing any grant or award from U.S. taxpayer dollars that "directly benefits the Palestinian Authority" unless the Secretary of State certifies that the Palestinian Authority is taking steps to end acts of terrorism against Israelis and United States citizens.
Fox News Digital noted that as of July 2023, lawmakers from both parties were still requesting an update from Blinken on Biden’s plan to end "Pay to Slay."
However, no answer was received.
Last month, the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on efforts to end the program that invites violence.
Former Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams testified, claiming that the Biden Administration’s actions undermine the Taylor Force Act that Trump worked to dissolve.