Trump canceled Gaza funding, Biden ramped it back up to hundreds of millions, ignored State Dept. warnings

In moments of international uncertainty, comparisons between Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill abound. You cannot obtain “peace for our times” by feeding Hitler Czechoslovakia; neither can you secure peace by appeasing terrorists, whether through the Iran Nuclear Deal or any other “stipulated” funding agreement.

As the saying goes, those who don't learn from the past are bound to repeat it, and it appears that some individuals at the Harry S. Truman Federal Building might have missed those lessons from history about the Munich Agreement.

Over the past few decades, the United States has invested billions of taxpayer dollars into Gaza and the West Bank. While the intention was ostensibly to support Palestinian relief efforts and provide humanitarian aid, recent Hamas attacks originating from Gaza have raised questions about the efficacy of this funding. Many now question whether these resources truly reached those in need or if they were siphoned into the hands of the terrorists that control Gaza.

A new report from Open the Books shows that, since 2009, we have allocated just under $4 billion in Palestinian aid, the bulk of which has come from the Barack Obama and Joe Biden administrations. Biden alone has already sent $1 billion into the terrorist-infested enclave between Israel, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea. His latest FY 2024 budget request calls for millions more.

On average, President Obama poured $348 million in aid into Gaza and the West Bank every year of his presidency. In 2017, when Trump took office, the administration sent just under $360 million. However, the new president quickly altered course.

Perturbed by rumors of “the diversion of U.S. taxpayer dollars into Hamas, PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization), and PA (Palestinian Authority) agendas,” Trump ordered an investigation into how U.S. dollars in the region were being spent. “We have undertaken a review of U.S. assistance… in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with U.S. national interests and provide value to the U.S. taxpayer,” a State Department official announced at the time. Based on the findings of the report, Trump slashed funding by roughly $200 million in 2018.

By 2019, U.S. aid to the region had fallen to zero, a 71-year low. But when Biden took office, he quickly ramped annual funding back up to over $300 million, brushing aside credible concerns that such funding might be used to sponsor terrorist activity.

“We assess there is a high risk Hamas could potentially derive indirect, unintentional benefit from U.S. assistance to Gaza,” the State Department reportedly admitted. Even Secretary of State Antony Blinken confessed “there are no guarantees… that this assistance reaches the people who need it the most.”

“It is clear that U.S. aid intended for the Palestinian people has repeatedly ended up in the hands of terrorists,” declared Senator Marsha Blackburn, days after the Hamas-led attack on Israel. “Since taking office, President Biden has sent the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) over $730 million, despite knowing there would be a high risk of Hamas benefiting from American taxpayers. UNRWA teachers and educational materials call for the murder of Jews, and the Biden administration should immediately halt all funding for the agency. The U.S. government should not be funding terrorists.”

Even as President Biden and the Department of Defense have committed “overwhelming” support to Israel, the U.S. must also consider whether we are inadvertently funding both sides of the war by haphazardly allowing taxpayers’ dollars to trickle into the hands of our enemies.

Although there are no easy solutions to these international crises, one thing is clear: the American people cannot continue to trust Washington to properly manage their funds. It’s time to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government because we know they won’t do it themselves.

To support Convention of States, a national movement to call a convention under Article V of the United States Constitution, restricted to proposing amendments that will enact fiscal restraints on Washington, limit its power and jurisdiction, and force term limits on federal officials, sign the Convention of States petition below.