Palestinian terror-tied groups pocket hundreds of thousands from Biden administration
- October 14, 2023
Gabe Kaminsky, Washington Examiner
Under President Joe Biden, the federal government has dished out hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to Gaza and West Bank-based groups with ties to terror factions, including Hamas, records show
The grants, which were awarded by the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, have become increasingly relevant amid the Israel-Gaza conflict beginning last Saturday due to Hamas attacking the Jewish state of Israel. The death toll in Israel has reached 1,300, while at least 27 U.S. citizens have been killed, and 1,500 people in Gaza are dead, according to estimates. Around 20 Americans are also missing, the White House said this week.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government in recent years approved large sums in Palestinian aid, including $250 million “in humanitarian and economic/development assistance to people living in Gaza and the West Bank,” the State Department told the Washington Examiner. USAID’s inspector general raised concerns in a report last month that agency officials have not adequately evaluated risks in aid to Gaza and the West Bank, while the State Department in 2021 worried there was a “high risk” of Hamas deriving “indirect, unintentional benefit” from Gaza aid, according to documents obtained by the watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust.