US aid to the Palestinian security services will end this week at the Palestinians’ request, an official in the West Bank says, to preempt lawsuits over alleged support for terrorism.
The Palestinian Authority has demanded the funding stop at the end of January for fear it could expose the PA to costly lawsuits under the US Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act (ATCA), which comes into force on February 1.
“The money will be cut off,” senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat tells AFP in the West Bank city of Ramallah. “We don’t want to receive any money if this will take us to court.”
The ATCA legislation passed by Congress last year provides for any government that receives funding to be subject to US counterterrorism laws. The PA faces potential lawsuits from families of American victims of past Palestinian attacks.
The aid of around $35 million a year was in support of Palestinian security forces in the West Bank, which cooperate closely with their Israeli counterparts against Hamas and other terrorist groups.
— AFP
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