House Appropriations Subcommittee approves $3.3 Billion to Israel security
WASHINGTON – The House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs approved by voice vote its fiscal year 2021 bill on Monday which will provide funds to Israel security in addition to giving aid to the Palestinians.
The bill next heads to the full Committee for markup. It will provide the funds according to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on military aid between the US and Israel.
“It keeps the commitments of the United States at Camp David in 1979 to promote peace in the Middle East by providing $3.3 Billion in aid for Israel security, as well as assistance for Egypt,” said House Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman, Nita Lowey.
She added that the bill also seeks to restore humanitarian and development assistance to the Palestinians, “to continue the viability of a two-state solution by providing resources to organizations working in the West Bank and Gaza.”
The bill includes $225 million “to help address the needs of the Palestinian people, which may include support for UNRWA,” the House Appropriations Committee said in a statement. It is unclear what the chances of that article to pass the Senate are.
The Trump administration has cut all funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in 2018, questioning the organization’s “fundamental business model” of servicing an “endlessly and exponentially expanding community” of declared Palestinian refugees. The State Department described the agency as “irredeemably flawed.”
Read More: Jerusalem Post