by Adam Kredo
The Biden administration pushed through plans to distribute hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer aid to the Palestinians despite internal assessments that those plans could boost the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas, according to internal documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
State Department officials in 2021 outlined the concerns in private communications, asking the Treasury Department to exempt them from laws that bar the U.S. government from injecting taxpayer aid into territories controlled by Palestinian terror groups. The Biden administration needed this authorization in order to move forward with its plans to unfreeze more than $360 million in U.S. funds for the Palestinian Authority that were cut off during the Trump administration due to the authority’s support for terrorists.
“We assess there is a high risk Hamas could potentially derive indirect, unintentional benefit from U.S. assistance to Gaza. There is less but still some risk U.S. assistance would benefit other designated groups,” the State Department wrote in a draft sanctions exemption request circulated internally in March 2021, shortly after Biden took office. “Notwithstanding this risk, State believes it is in our national security interest to provide assistance in the West Bank and Gaza to support the foreign policy objectives.”
The documents—obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust—show the Biden administration was privately worried its efforts to restart Palestinian aid could benefit Hamas and other terror factions operating in the Gaza Strip. As officials publicly provided assurances to Congress and the press that this aid would be doled out “consistent with U.S. law,” the State Department was scrambling to secure a sanctions exemption that would let it skirt anti-terrorism laws.
The State Department claimed it needed broad authorities to conduct work in the West Bank and Gaza Strip “that would otherwise be prohibited by the Global Terrorist Sanctions Regulations and the Foreign Terrorist Organization Sanctions Regulations,” according to a draft version of the request.
“Such authorization would enable activities, including assistance activities, that are critical to support the administration’s efforts to advance prosperity, security, and freedom for both Israelis and Palestinians and to advance and preserve the prospects of a negotiated solution in which Israel lives in peace and security alongside a viable Palestinian state,” according to the draft request.
The previously unknown draft request adds credibility to warnings from Republicans at the time that aid would bolster terror groups. In April 2021, 18 Republicans led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) sent a letter to the administration calling for Palestinian aid to be halted until measures could be put in place to prevent it from benefiting terrorists.
The internal documents obtained by the Free Beacon include the draft of the exemption request as well as internal emails discussing the need for the Treasury Department to grant it. One email, sent to over a dozen State Department employees, said it was urgently needed to push the Biden administration’s “foreign policy objectives,” which included an immediate resumption of funding to the Palestinian government.
State Department officials said they did not specify what programs or activities they intended to fund if exempted from counterterrorism laws due to the need for “broad flexibility.” Instead, they would only provide the Treasury Department with “illustrative examples” including a list of assistance projects totaling over $200 million, according to one of the emails.
The State Department also asked for the exemption to be unclassified, “so relevant U.S. government agencies can share a copy with partners,” such as other governments and nonprofits.
State Department officials did not immediately return a request for comment on whether its assessment about the risk of U.S. aid bolstering Hamas was ultimately conveyed to the Treasury Department, or if the reference was deleted before the request was sent. The Treasury Department declined to comment on the matter, citing a policy of not discussing exemptions that may have been granted.
The administration ultimately moved forward with its plans to restart Palestinian aid, just months after the State Department’s internal wrangling over the issue.
One U.S. official familiar with the matter told the Free Beacon that the State Department’s early assessment of the risks of restarting aid should have given the Biden administration pause.
“If I pound my fingers with this hammer there is a risk it could hurt. Well, what the hell… I’ll do it anyway.” Now, instead of just Robin Ware/Robert L. Peters/JRB Ware/Pedo Peter/idiot Biden making stupid foreign policy decisions, the entire State Department carries out his stupid directives. As usual, the world burns. Now he is directly responsible for TWO wars.
All those w ho still support Biden should hide away for the rest of their lives