Joe Biden quietly reversed President Donald Trump’s policy of cutting aid to the Palestinians and has sent $15 million to Palestinian communities to help them deal with COVID-19 (why aren’t Arab nations doing that?), according to ABC News:
The United States said Thursday it is giving $15 million to vulnerable Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic, a sharp reversal from the Trump administration which cut off almost all aid to the Palestinians.
“This urgent, necessary aid is one piece of our renewed commitment to the Palestinian people,” U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield. “The aid will help Palestinians in dire need, which will bring more stability and security to both Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
The money will come from the U.S. Agency for International Development will support Catholic Relief Services’ “COVID-19 response efforts in health care facilities and for vulnerable families in the West Bank and Gaza.”
Meanwhile, The Associated Press reported:
The Biden administration is quietly ramping up assistance to the Palestinians after former President Donald Trump cut off nearly all aid. Since taking office with a pledge to reverse many of Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian decisions, the administration has allocated nearly $100 million for the Palestinians, only a small portion of which has been publicized.
The administration notified Congress of the additional $75 million this week, which will go to “economic support,” the AP said, in order to “regain their ‘trust and goodwill’ after the Trump-era cuts.”
Since when did U.S. national and economic security depend on the ‘trust and goodwill’ of the tiny Palestinian rump state? Did we not survive without it under Trump?
“Given the absence of USAID activity in recent years, engaging civil society actors will be critical to regaining trust and goodwill with Palestinian society,” said the notification to Congress.
“We continue to believe that American support for the Palestinian people, including financial support, it is consistent with our values. It is consistent with our interests. Of course, it is consistent with the interests of the Palestinian people. It’s also consistent with the interests of our partner, Israel, and we’ll have more to say on that going forward,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
During his tenure, Trump cut some $200 million in assistance to the Palestinians over their continued support for terrorism.
In fact, the Government Accountability Office issued a report shortly after the Biden regime informed Congress of the $75 million payoff “that found USAID had not properly vetted its Palestinian recipients for antiterrorism criteria as required by law,” the Daily Caller reported.
So what, right? It’s about rebuilding ‘trust and goodwill.’
Not really. Let’s be crystal clear about why Biden’s handlers are having him reverse as many of Trump’s policies as possible: It’s not because they dislike the man, although they do; it’s because they dislike our country, period.
How else can you explain the rush to undo policies designed to put America and Americans first for a change?