Israel Policy Forum (IPF) supports the revised version of the Taylor Force Act and views it as a positive step towards holding the Palestinian Authority to account for its rewarding and glorification of terrorism against Israelis. We are heartened to see a common sense distinction made between aid that directly benefits the PA and aid that supports ordinary Palestinians, and we stand firm in our belief that the U.S. must be unqualified in doing what it can to prevent Palestinian terrorism while simultaneously recognizing that taking a sledgehammer to all aid in the West Bank and Gaza would seriously harm Israel’s security, as stated by our partners Commanders for Israel’s Security (CIS). The U.S. cannot enable the PA to use aid dollars in support of violence, and regularly certifying that the PA is actively trying to prevent such violence will ensure that this issue remains front and center. We hope that the definition of “directly benefits” will be interpreted in a fair manner so as to protect humanitarian, people-to-people, and peace-building aid, none of which directly aids the PA by any reasonable interpretation.
