One year ago, Taylor Force, a U.S. Army officer, was tragically killed in a stabbing by a Palestinian terrorist in Tel Aviv, Israel. He was just 29 years old. The terrorist wounded 11 others in his onslaught — including a pregnant woman — before he was taken down by Israeli police.
Taylor Force was a true profile in courage. A 2009 West Point graduate, he served in both Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Following his service, Force enrolled in Vanderbilt University’s MBA program. His Israel trip with fellow grad students involved learning about Israel’s start-up culture and entrepreneurship practices.
Force was ultimately a victim of Palestinians’ incitement of terrorism, Republican legislators argued Tuesday in a joint press conference regarding the reintroduction of the Taylor Force Act. The act was originally sponsored in 2016 by Senators Lindsay Graham, R-S.C. (F, 30%), Roy Blunt, R-Mo. (F, 39%), Marco Rubio, R-Fla. (C, 74%), Tom Cotton, R-Ark. (C, 76%), John Boozman, R-Ark. (F, 56%), John Thune, R-S.D. (F,44%), Ted Cruz, R-Texas (A, 97%), Tim Scott, R-S.C. (B, 89%), and former Senators Dan Coats (President Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence) and Senator Mark Kirk
.@LindseyGrahamSC abt to announce reintroduction of Taylor Force Act, which cuts off funding to Palestinians if they keep funding terrorism pic.twitter.com/YQzJSjuI44
— RJC (@RJC) February 28, 2017
The bill makes U.S. assistance to the Palestinian entities in Gaza and the West Bank conditional, mandating that the Palestinian Authority (which rules Palestinian areas in the West Bank) “ends violence and terrorism against Israeli citizens.”
The bill states that in order to receive further assistance the Palestinian Authority must terminate:
The GOP senators are shining a light on the Palestinian Authority’s infamous government-sponsored terrorist rewards program. The Ramallah government invests up to 10 percent of its annual budget paying the families of “martyred” terrorists in the fight versus Israel.
An additional portion of the budget goes toward providing regular stipends to Palestinian terrorists in Israeli jails, many of whom are accused of committing mass-casualty attacks. The terrorists receive between $350 and $3,000 a month. The total amount depends on several factors including how many casualties the terrorist was responsible for.
In 2016, the U.S. gave over $712 million to the Palestinians. Over $357 million went directly to the Palestinian Authority, while hundreds of millions more went to United Nations programs for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Source: Finally! Republican legislators seek to end Palestinian government’s terrorist payment program
