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This bill — known as the Taylor Force Act — would prohibit foreign aid from being made available to the West Bank and Gaza unless the State Dept. certifies that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is taking steps to end violence and terrorism against Israeli citizens committed by individuals under its jurisdiction. The State Dept. would also have to certify that the PA has terminated payments for acts of terrorism against Israeli citizens to any individual convicted and imprisoned for such acts, to any individual who died committing such acts, and to the individual’s family members. It would also have to certify that laws or systems using the length of the prison sentences for terrorism to determine compensation are eliminated.

The bill would also urge the State Dept. and the U.S. delegation to the U.N. to encourage other countries to also call for an end to these payments. Further, it expresses support for the creation of a general welfare system for Palestinians.

This bill is named after Taylor Force, a 29 year old former U.S. Army officer who was part of a Vanderbilt University tour group visiting Israel when he was stabbed and killed by a Palestinian terrorist in March 2016. Another 10 tourists were wounded. The PA’s Fatah faction, of which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is a member, praised the terrorist as being a “heroic martyr” and hasn’t condemned the attack.

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Should the Palestinian Authority Not Get Foreign Aid Unless it Stops Paying Rewards to Terrorists?