Donovan demands U.S. restrict funding to Palestinian Authority

October 23, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan traveled to Israel in the summer as part of a congressional delegation. Eagle file photo by Paula Katinas

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The Palestinian Authority should pay a still financial penalty for the violence taking place in Israel, according to U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan, who is calling on the U.S. government to restrict future aid.

Donovan (R-C-Southwest Brooklyn-Staten Island) placed the blame for the violence on the shoulders of the Palestinians in Israel, charging that they are inciting violence. In the past month alone, several Israelis have been attacked by knife-wielding Arabs. Israeli forces have shot and killed more than 30 of the attackers. The assaults against Israelis are believed to have started after false rumors circulated on Palestinian social media accusing Israel of planning to demolish the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Palestinian Authority is fanning the flames, according to Donovan, who traveled to Israel this past summer as part of a congressional delegation.

“Tragically, the Palestinian Authority, rather than calling for calm, chose to inflame the situation in its public statements, inciting further violence. This will only lead to more Israeli and Palestinian deaths, and it must stop immediately,” Donovan said in a statement.

On Oct. 21, Donovan sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry urging him to convey America’s full support of Israel during meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Your upcoming meeting with the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, represents an important opportunity to reaffirm our long-standing bipartisan commitment to the State of Israel. I respectfully ask that you convey to Prime Minister Netanyahu the full support of the American people. Further, it should be the policy of the United States to condition aid to the Palestinian Authority on the cessation of incitement to riot,” Donovan wrote.

Kerry met with Netanyahu in Berlin on Thursday and was expected to travel to the Middle East to meet with Palestinian leaders in an attempt to cool down the increasingly tense.

“In promoting peace and affirming the right for the Jewish people to live in a Jewish state, we are not just protecting an important ally – we are safeguarding a heritage that is central to our culture,” Donovan said.