Palestine terror victims are suing the Biden administration for awarding nearly half a billion dollars in U.S. taxpayer money to the Palestinian government, which allegedly pays convicted terrorists and their families.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday by the American victims and Republican Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, alleges that the Biden administration is in violation of federal law by resuming U.S. aid to the Palestinian government.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to halt the Biden administration’s Palestinian aid program over claims that it is upholding the “pay-to-slay” program in violation of a 2018 law known as the Taylor Force Act. The bill, which is named after an American who was murdered in 2016 by a Palestinian terrorist, forbids any American payments to the Palestinian Authority until it ends its financing of terrorism.
The Palestinian government finances terrorists and incites violence against Israel, according to congressional notifications made by the State Department, which is named as a defendant in the lawsuit. A judge must now decide whether or not U.S. aid payments should be suspended for breaking federal law.
Force’s family is also listed as a plaintiff in the case, along with Jackson and Sarri Singer, who survived a suicide bombing incident in Pakistan in 2003.
“I am committed to doing everything in my power to get the accountability these families so richly deserve as we work to make sure U.S. taxpayer-funded terrorism never happens again,” Jackson said. “President Trump showed tremendous leadership when he signed the Taylor Force Act into law and ended taxpayer support for the Palestinian Authority’s terrorist activities. Joe Biden’s decision to reverse course knowing full well blood is on his hands as a result is unconscionable.”
President Joe Biden has been criticized for his treatment of Palestine, with many calling it a setback for the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.
In June, the Biden administration announced a partial reversal of a Trump-era policy on Palestine by opening a “U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs” in the country.
Foreign experts view President Joe Biden’s move as a way to reward the Palestinian leadership following waves of terrorism, including an incident where a Palestinian gunman killed three people and wounded six others in a crowded bar in Tel Aviv back in May.
