House Votes to Stop Sending Your Tax Money to Terrorists, but This Fight Isn't Over Yet: Here's Why
12-06-2017
The Palestinian Authority faces a massive cut in U.S. aid now that the House has passed the Taylor Force Act, which targets payments and benefits given to terrorists.
Their program has been called 'Pay to Slay': rewarding Palestinian terrorists who kill Israelis and others – including Americans – even as US tax dollars flow to the Palestinian authority. The Taylor Force Act would pressure Palestinian leaders to stop it.
The measure passed the House by unanimous consent Tuesday.
The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, California Republican Rep. Ed Royce, said, "With this legislation, we are forcing the Palestinian Authority to choose between U.S. assistance and these morally reprehensible policies."
The act gets its name from the American combat veteran, Taylor Force, who was murdered while on a school trip in Israel in 2016.
The 21-year-old terrorist behind the brutal stabbing of Force was killed by police but was praised by the Palestinian Authority government and his family given lifelong financial compensation.
The compensation given to Palestinian terrorists includes: pension for life that is triple the average salary in Palestinian areas, free tuition, health insurance, a clothing allowance for life, and a free monthly stipend.
Royce says "these policies incentivize terrorism."
The payments are on a sliding scale; the more successful the attack, the bigger the payout.
The Palestinian Authority has spent a whopping $355 million on the direct funding of terrorism this year. The U.S. is the Palestinian Authority's largest international donor, giving it over $700 million in indirect aid last year.
Itamar Marcus of Palestinian Media Watch says, "The Palestinian Authority is so dependent on foreign aid. The United States gives them foreign aid. The European Union gives them foreign aid, most of the Western European countries. They have the power to stop this."
But the battle to cut the terrorist funding isn't over yet. That's because the legislation now goes on to the Senate. If they pass the bill, it would cut off funding for the Palestinians beginning next year, if they do not halt 'Pay to Slay.'
