Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a new argument today to justify the Donald Trump administration’s elimination of nearly all economic and humanitarian aid for the West Bank and Gaza.
The Trump administration first eliminated $215 million in Palestinian aid in 2018 pending a review that the State Department has never released. Last week, the State Department announced that it would provide $5 million in coronavirus aid for the West Bank and Gaza — a mere 7% of the $75 million in Palestinian economic and humanitarian aid that Congress appropriated for this fiscal year.