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The Palestinian Authority Violated US Law, and Biden Gave Them Billions; Will Trump Reverse Course?
US President Joe Biden holds a press conference during NATO’s 75th anniversary summit, in Washington, DC, July 11, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard
The Palestinian Authority (PA) continues to openly flaunt that it disregards American wishes and legislation.
American law prohibits funding the PA if the PA takes action against Israel in the International Criminal Court (ICC). Yet that is exactly what the PA and Palestinian leaders have done:
PA-controlled Committee to Resist Settlements and the Wall Director of Documentation Amir Daoud: “We have seen profound changes in the positions of the states … and this reached a peak in the issuance of arrest warrants against [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu and [then Israeli Minister of Defense] Gallant …
We as Palestinians need to continue providing these organizations [e.g., ICC] with real documents and information to expand the scope of sanctions to ensure that all the occupation’s criminals will reach the world’s courts to receive their punishment.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, Nov. 27, 2024]
Nevertheless, the Palestinians have no problem begging for and receiving American funding, to the tune of more than $2.1 billion since October 7, 2023, as reported in a USAID press release:
Since 2021, USAID/West Bank and Gaza has invested over $600 million in economic support funding of the Palestinian people, in addition to the over $2.1 billion in humanitarian assistance since October 7, 2023.
[USAID press release, November 15, 2024]
Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has documented that the PA is acting contrary to the US Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014.
That law renders the Palestinians ineligible to receive money from the US Economic Support Fund if they actively support an ICC investigation. The law states:
“None of the funds appropriated under the heading ‘Economic Support Fund’ in this Act may be made available for assistance for the Palestinian Authority, if after the date of enactment of this Act… the Palestinians initiate an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation, or actively support such an investigation, that subjects Israeli nationals to an investigation for alleged crimes against Palestinians.”
Yet, the PA continues to show contempt for these basic American criteria. Not only does it fail to abide by the restrictions, but it celebrates its influence on the ICC decision as “among the most important achievements of the Palestinian struggle in the past 10 years.”
Secretary-General of the International Academic Campaign against the Israeli Occupation and Apartheid Ramzi Oudeh: “The courageous decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding the arrest [warrants for former Israeli Minister of Defense] Gallant and [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu is among the most important achievements of the Palestinian struggle in the past 10 years. It is considered the most significant achievement. Today, this is a victory for the Palestinian people.”
[Official PA TV, Topic of the Day, Nov. 27, 2024]
American funding of the PA was cut off under President Trump due to the PA’s violation of the terms of the Taylor Force Act (TFA), but it was then reinstated under the Biden administration through various channels that bypassed the restrictions of the TFA.
With the PA gloating about its participation in ICC proceedings against Israel in violation of US restrictions, it will be noteworthy to see if the new US administration will stick to the letter and spirit of the law, which clearly intended for the US to cut off PA funding in such a case.
Ephraim D. Tepler is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Itamar Marcus is PMW’s Founder and Director. A version of this article originally appeared at PMW.
The post The Palestinian Authority Violated US Law, and Biden Gave Them Billions; Will Trump Reverse Course? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘With or Without Russia’s Help’: Iran Pledges to Block South Caucasus Route Opened Up By Peace Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
i24 News – Iran will block the establishment of a US-backed transit corridor in the South Caucasus region with or without Moscow’s help, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader was quoted as saying on Saturday by the Iran International website, one day after the historic peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“Mr. Trump thinks the Caucasus is a piece of real estate he can lease for 99 years,” Ali Akbar Velayati said of the so-called Zangezur corridor, the establishment of which is stipulated in the peace deal unveiled on Friday by US President Donald Trump. The White House said the transit route would facilitate greater exports of energy and other resources.
“This passage will not become a gateway for Trump’s mercenaries — it will become their graveyard,” the Khamenei advisor added.
Baku and Yerevan have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous Azerbaijani region mostly populated by ethnic Armenians, broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia. Azerbaijan took back full control of the region in 2023, prompting or forcing almost all of the territory’s 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia.
Yet that painful history was put to the side on Friday at the White House, as Trump oversaw a signing ceremony, flanked by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The peace deal with Azerbaijan—a pro-Western ally of Israel—is expected to pull Armenia out of the Russian and Iranian sphere of influence and could transform the South Caucasus, an energy-producing region neighboring Russia, Europe, Turkey and Iran.
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UK Police Arrest 150 at Protest for Banned Palestine Action Group
People holding signs sit during a rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, August 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Saturday it had arrested 150 people at a protest against Britain’s decision to ban the group Palestine Action, adding it was making further arrests.
Officers made arrests after crowds, waving placards expressing support for the group, gathered in Parliament Square, the force said on X.
Protesters, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves, chanted “shame on you” and “hands off Gaza,” and held signs such as “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action,” video taken by Reuters at the scene showed.
In July, British lawmakers banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain’s support for Israel.
The ban makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, last week won a bid to bring a legal challenge against the ban.
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‘No Leniency’: Iran Announces Arrest of 20 ‘Zionist Agents’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
i24 News – Iranian authorities have in recent months arrested 20 people charged with being “Israeli Mossad operatives,” the judiciary said, adding that the Islamic regime will mete out the harshest punishments.
“The judiciary will show no leniency toward spies and agents of the Zionist regime, and with firm rulings, will make an example of them all,” spokesperson Asghar Jahangiri told Iranian media. However, it is understood that an unspecified number of detainees were released, apparently after the charges against them could not be substantiated.
The Islamic Republic was left reeling by a devastating 12-day war with Israel earlier in the summer that left a significant proportion of its military arsenal in ruins and dealt a serious setback to its uranium enrichment program. The fallout included an uptick in executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel, with at least eight death sentences carried out in recent months. Hit with international sanctions, the country is in dire economic straights, with frequent energy outages and skyrocketing unemployment.
In recent weeks Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi affirmed that Tehran cannot give up on its nuclear enrichment program even as it was severely damaged during the war.
“It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously we cannot give up of enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride,” the official told Fox News.