The Biden administration is quietly increasing its financial aid to Palestinians in the latest reversal of former President Donald Trump’s foreign policy.
The State Department, along with the U.S. Agency for International Development, has informed Congress of its intention to provide nearly $ 75 million in aid to the region just one day after making a $ 15 million commitment to vulnerable Palestinians. groups announced.
The State Department declined to say whether the $ 15 million was included in the $ 75 million mentioned to Congress, or whether the two payments were separate.
The funds do not require further approval from Congress as they are largely appropriated in the budget for the fiscal year 2020.
President Joe Biden, center, walks from Marine One to Air Force One, with son Hunter Biden, left, carrying his son Beau on Friday, March 26, 2021 at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Biden is on his way to Delaware. (AP Photo / Alex Brandon)
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However, they were not spent until President Biden took office, due to the Trump administration policy that blocked almost all aid to Palestinians.
The then President Trump severed ties with the Palestinian Authority in August 2018 amid heightened tensions over the then commander – in – chief’s decision to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The decision to block aid led to the Palestinians losing more than $ 200 million.
The Biden government has made no effort to announce the renewal of payments, presumably an attempt not to worry among Israeli pro-Israelites about its positions in the Middle East.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ned Price reiterated the Biden government’s support for the resumption of aid to the Palestinians.
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“We continue to believe that US support for the Palestinian people, including financial support, is in line with our values. It is in line with our interests. Of course, it is in line with the interests of the Palestinian people,” Price told reporters.
“This is also in line with the interests of our partner, Israel, and we will have more to say in the future,” he continued.
Although Biden may not support the Trump doctrine on all aspects of foreign policy, he welcomed one attempt by the previous president: the Abraham agreement.
The Abraham agreement was signed in September last year, normalizing relations between Israel and two Gulf states in an agreement led by the Trump administration.
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Biden promised at the time to build on the work of his predecessor and praised the diplomatic achievements that Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Israel brought together.
This story first appeared in the New York Post.