Senate Democrats Vote Down Rand Paul’s Effort to Condition Palestinian Aid

Senate Democrats voted down an amendment offered Thursday by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to make any future aid to Palestinians contingent on their recognition of Israel, rejection of terror, and release of all Israeli hostages abducted in the October 7 attack.

Every Republican voted for the amendment; every Democrat voted against it — including Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who has adopted a pro-Israel posture in recent weeks, but who bowed to party leadership when it came down to a vote on actual policy.

Direct U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority government is already barred by the Taylor Force Act as long as Palestinian leaders continue to spend public money to subsidize terror. But the Biden administration has sought other, indirect ways to send aid.

In a statement, Paul’s office said:

Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced an amendment that would prohibit U.S. foreign assistance to the Palestinian Authority or any other Palestinian governing entity in the West Bank and Gaza, unless the President certifies to Congress that they have:

• Formally recognized the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state;
• Publicly recognized the state of Israel;
• Renounced terrorism;
• Purged all individuals with terrorist ties from security services;
• Terminated funding of anti-American and anti-Israel incitement;
• Publicly renounced Hamas and the October 7, 2023, attacks perpetrated by Hamas on Israel;
• Honored previous diplomatic agreements; and
• Released all hostages abducted on October 7, 2023, and held in territory governed by the Palestinian Authority or other Palestinian governing authority.

The amendment also directs the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a report on the human rights practices of the Palestinian Authority, or any other Palestinian governing entity in the West Bank and Gaza.

…

If foreign aid is intended to project American power and values, the United States must insist that those recipients of foreign aid act in a manner consistent with internationally recognized human rights.

Earlier this week, Paul voted for an anti-Israel resolution introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that would have directed the State Department to report on Israel’s human rights record, and which including a number of false accusations against Israel.

Paul’s subsequent amendment will partially restore his credibility on the Israel issue — and exposes the Democrats on the issue.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the 2021 e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now updated with a new foreword. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.