Due to cuts from Israel and US, PA calls on Arab League to provide financial assistance; Arab League commits to providing $100 million a month.
The Arab League committed to funding the Palestinian Authority with $100 million a month to make up for Israel’s cuts in tax revenues combatting the Palestinian’s martyr fund. The group confirmed in Cairo on Monday that it would assist the Palestinians after PA President Mahmoud Abbas called for funds and “security” amidst cuts from Israel and the United States.
The “Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund” is monthly stipends given to the families of terrorists. The fund includes resources for incarcerated Palestinian terrorists and their families, as well as funds for the families of terrorists who were killed by Israeli security forces. The Palestinians have also denied US aid following the passing of the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act (ATCA) in February of this year. The law passed by the US Congress and Senate combats the funding of terrorism in countries receiving aid from the United States, with legal action if aid is used for terrorism. The Palestinian Authority notified the US State Department that it would decline future aid as a result.
The Palestinians, as well as Hezbollah and Iran, have accused Israel and the United States of economic war due to aid cuts in international bodies, sanctions, exposure of corruption and revised foreign policy.
Reports released this week claim Arab states, particularly those with growing relations with Israel, are pressuring the Palestinians through financial and political efforts to accept President Trump’s upcoming peace plan. The PA has been clear that it will not accept the deal as it continues its boycott of the Trump Administration and searches for new peace mediators in Russia and Asia. Trump’s “Deal of the Century” is believed to focus on economic opportunity for the Palestinians.
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