Hundreds of former generals and senior security officials warned that proposed US legislation to cut funding to the Palestinian Authority may harm Israel’s security.
Commanders for Israel’s Security issued a statement saying that the Taylor Force Act, named after the American killed last year in a stabbing attack in Tel Aviv, could bring about the end of security cooperation between Israel and the PA.
The bill would cut all US funding to the Palestinian Authority except that earmarked for the Palestinian police, some $60 million, a fraction of the approximately $500 million Palestinians have received annually from the United States.
Although Commanders for Israel’s Security support the basic premise of the proposed legislation, the group said that withdrawing funding from the PA could weaken its authority and allow extremist factions to take over. The group said a strong PA is necessary for Israeli security and that the proposed US legislation should be modified to ensure the PA’s control is not harmed.
The statement, issued last Wednesday, ends by calling on the Israeli government to ask Washington to amend the legislation. “Their intentions are pure. Their friendship is beyond a doubt. But if enacted, this legislation might undermine PA stability; expand the circle of frustration and hostility; erode the security coordination; and thus hurt Israeli security.”
Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have publicly decried the PA payments to the families of jailed and slain attackers, but have also reportedly quietly counseled against major cuts, seeing the Palestinian Authority as a force for stability in the West Bank.
A number of pro-Israel groups have also backed the act, including the Zionist Organization of America, the Orthodox Union, the Republican Jewish Coalition, and Christians United for Israel. However, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the powerhouse among pro-Israel groups, has yet to fully embrace it, although AIPAC also appears to be edging closer.
The Taylor Force Act was first introduced in 2016 by South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, former Indiana Republican Senator Dan Coats, and Missouri Republican Senator Roy Blunt. It was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time, but never came up for a vote.
Originally posted at Times of Israel.
