The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has renewed its long-standing call for the U.S. to discontinue aid to Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA) following an official PA statement that it will “never” return to negotiating with Israel.
In a striking rejection of international efforts to restore Israeli/Palestinian talks, the PA foreign minister, Riyad al–Malki, said this week that, “We will never go back and sit again in a direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations” (‘PA: Palestinians to ‘never’ again negotiate directly with Israel,’ Times of Israel, February 15, 2016).
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “The ZOA strongly opposes U.S. aid to the PA as long as the PA remains a terrorist-promoting regime that incites its population to hatred and murder of Israelis and refuses to accept Israel as a Jewish state.
“Till now, U.S aid has been predicated on the assumption that the PA is a peace partner that will negotiate peace directly with Israel. Now that the PA has stated that, not only is it not negotiating directly with Israel, but that it will never again negotiate with Israel, there is no longer even the semblance of a justification for maintaining U.S.-taxpayer-funded aid to the PA.
“This is especially so, given the shameless record of the P.A. publicly asserting that it is entitled to U.S. aid as of ‘right.’
“We particularly deplore continuing aid for the PA as it continues to honor and glorify terrorists, pays salaries to convicted terrorists freed by Israel, threatens to kidnap Israeli soldiers in order to extort the release of jailed Palestinian terrorists, and broadcasts on official PA television programs and commentary in which Jews are obscenely described in dehumanizing terms as animals of various kinds.
“Continued U.S. aid to the PA will only to enhance the ability of terrorist groups to wage their terror war against Israel and thus prolong the conflict that President Obama says he is keen to solve. Even if it could be demonstrated that U.S. aid would not reach terror groups, such aid is fungible. It also frees up other PA funds for terrorist uses.
“In such circumstances, America is not obliged to give aid and, furthermore, is violating its own commitment not to fund terror groups.
“We urge the White House and Congress to cease forthwith all U.S. aid to the PA.”