In the past week, numerous videos of missiles raining down on Israel have flooded social media sites across the internet.
Beginning on Monday, the current onslaught of rockets targeting Israeli citizens came courtesy of Palestinian terrorists.
These attacks come roughly one month after the Biden administration decided to resume sending economic aid to areas in Palestine controlled by such militant groups.
At the beginning of April, a group of U.S. senators warned President Joe Biden’s secretary of state — Antony Blinken — not to send economic aid to territories controlled by the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
In a letter sent out on April 8, Blinken was warned that such funding would be inevitably redirected toward terrorist activities, citing numerous past examples.
Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Marco Rubio of Florida, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Tom Cotton of Arkansas were among the letter’s many signatories.
According to a report from The Associated Press, the Biden administration announced at the end of March that it was giving $15 million to “vulnerable Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Only a day later, with no public announcement, the administration notified Congress it would be sending an additional $75 million to Palestine for general economic support.
This was a reversal from the previous administration, which chose to cut most of the aid going into Palestine.
The April 8 letter warned Blinken that increasing such funding could lead to exactly the sort of violence Israel began facing on Monday.
“Since 1993, the U.S. government provided more than $6.3 billion to the Palestinians with the aims of, first, advancing the Palestinians’ capacity to build a state and, second, insulating and distancing Palestinian governance from terrorism,” the letter stated.
“Measured by the degree to which they have achieved those aims, U.S. programs have not just failed but have been counterproductive, with the money facilitating terrorist incitement and making its way to terrorists. In just the last few weeks, U.S. government documents and announcements by the Palestinians have made clear those failings were systematic and structural.”
The letter also warned of how this funding could lead to “pay-for-slay” programs, noting “the PA has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars every year to reward Palestinian terrorists and their families, with increased rewards in proportion to increased casualties.”
One beneficiary of the program, Bashar Masalha, “stabbed 11 people near Tel Aviv and murdered 28-year old U.S. Army veteran Taylor Force,” the letter noted.
In another letter sent out on Wednesday, Sen. Rubio and 43 Republican colleagues urged Biden to stand with Israel by refusing to send funds to one of Hamas’ biggest allies, Iran.
“The United States designated Hamas as a terrorist organization in 1997 and as such, is prohibited from providing any funds to Hamas,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Iran, however, is a longtime financial and material supporter of Hamas. The United States engaging in active negotiations with Iran and potentially providing billions of dollars in sanctions relief will no doubt contribute to Iran’s support of Hamas and other terrorist organizations who attack Americans and our allies.”
“We call on you to immediately end negotiations with Iran, and make clear that sanctions relief will not be provided. Doing so would demonstrate a firm commitment to our closest ally in the region and to our own security interests.”
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This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
