RAMALLAH, West Bank — President Mahmoud Abbas instructed the Palestinian government to send a message in January to the US government in which it requested ending the US aid program for the Palestinian security agencies, Secretary-General of the PLO Saeb Erekat said at a press conference Jan. 31 in Ramallah, in the presence of Al-Monitor.
Erekat said the decision is to avert any potential lawsuits filed against the Palestinian government at US courts in accordance with a new anti-terrorism bill — the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018 — passed by the US Congress. The law, which entered into force Feb. 1, states that any foreign entity benefiting from US funding is subject to American anti-terrorism laws.