The Palestinian Authority (PA) is in a lobbying war with an Israeli nongovernmental organization over congressional efforts to amend an anti-terror law that has resulted in the inadvertent end of US aid to the West Bank and Gaza.
Justice Department filings reviewed by Al-Monitor show the PA has dispatched the law firm Squire Patton Boggs to lobby Congress to amend the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act, which has created a key legal barrier to economic, humanitarian and security assistance for the Palestinians.
The law as written opens the PA up to terrorism-related lawsuits if it accepts any US assistance, prompting the Palestinians to reject the last vestiges of US aid earlier this year. While the Donald Trump administration has deliberately eliminated economic and humanitarian aid for the PA, the White House has asked Congress to fix the law in order to preserve Palestinian security assistance supported by Israel.
The new filings include an email exchange between Patton Boggs associate Brandon Roman and Arthur Sidney, the chief of staff for Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., who chairs a key House Judiciary subcommittee. The exchange indicates that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is working on a letter regarding two competing proposals to amend the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act with the hopes of eventually restoring Palestinian aid.
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