President Donald Trump is expected to push Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to end payments to the families of terrorists when the two leaders meet at the White House Wednesday.
The meeting is the first step toward a potential restart of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The issue of terrorist payments will be a top priority during the meeting, according to Fox News.
“Stopping the payment of terrorist families is a priority for this administration and this president, and a necessary foundation for real peace,” an unnamed senior administration official told Fox. “We expect the president will make this point in the meeting.”
The Palestinian Authority reportedly spends as much as $170 million a year on what is known as the Palestinian Authority Martyr’s Fund. The fund provides $350 a month to the families of Palestinian terrorists killed while attacking Israeli citizens. The amount is higher than the average Palestinian’s wage.
U.S. lawmakers have created a bill aimed at putting an end to the terror payments. The Taylor Force Act, sponsored by Republican Reps. Doug Lamborn and Lee Zeldin, would cut off U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority until the fund is cut off. The U.S. government currently spends $300 million a year to support the Palestinian Authority.
The bill is named after Taylor Force, a U.S. citizen, West Point graduate and veteran of both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, who was killed by a 22-year-old Palestinian terrorist while visiting Israel last year.
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