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Congress set to cut Palestinian aid

Lawmakers included the provision in must-pass spending legislation to keep the government open.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) questions U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen during a hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee on "Oversight of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1E9D5BF390

After months of negotiations and multiple revisions, Congress is on the verge of mandating that the Donald Trump administration cut economic assistance to the West Bank and Gaza that “directly benefits” the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The legislation, known as the Taylor Force Act, was incorporated into a government spending bill that Congress must pass by Friday in order to avert a government shutdown. Unless the PA ceases its so-called martyr payments to Palestinian assailants responsible for attacks in Israel and to the assailants’ families, the aid cuts will soon go into effect.

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