In 2018, Congress passed the Taylor Force Act, which withholds funding from the Palestinian Authority (PA) so long as it continues to reward terrorists and their families with cash. Willing to risk insolvency rather than abandon “pay-for-slay,” Ramallah has since then been cut off from American aid. The Biden administration, however, has pledged $150 million to the Palestinians over the next two years, which it plans to allocate to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). But, writes Dore Feith, recent decrees by the PA president Mahmoud Abbas undermine such efforts to help Palestinians without running afoul of the Taylor Force Act:
Before [2011], NGO directors decided how to dispense their assets. If they failed to do so, PA officials could step in, but they had to transfer the assets to private Palestinian associations “of a similar purpose.” Law-by-Decree No. 6, enacted in 2011, undid this protection by authorizing the interior ministry to overrule NGO directors’ wishes and transfer NGO assets to the PA treasury.
The 2011 amendment thus created an incentive for the PA, cash-strapped because of U.S. aid restrictions, to dissolve NGOs and to pour their assets into its own coffers. In 2020, the Arab Gulf states reduced their aid to the PA by 85 percent, intensifying its financial crisis. PA officials are thus even more motivated to seize NGO funds to make up for revenue losses.
In March 2021, Abbas issued Law-by-Decree No. 7/2021, all but erasing the line between government and civil society. The decree requires that NGO work “conform” with government plans. NGOs are now required to submit their work plans and estimated budgets for PA approval at the start of every year, and PA officials will be able to halt plans before they are begun.
The Palestinian Authority has put the Biden administration in a serious bind. It is not clear that the administration’s hope to revive U.S. aid through Palestinian NGOs can be fulfilled lawfully. If the aid doesn’t flow, it won’t be because President Biden does not want to send it. It would be because the PA has chosen not to make it a legal option.
Read more on BESA Center: https://besacenter.org/a-new-palestinian-authority-ngo-decree-might-halt-us-aid-to-the-west-bank-and-gaza/