(The Hill) Rebecca Shabad - The leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee are warning that the U.S. could cut off aid to Palestinians if they don't back out of their bid to join the International Criminal Court (ICC). "The United States should not support direct economic assistance to the [PA] until it demonstrates a meaningful reversal of this destructive course and proves it can be a willing partner for peace," the lawmakers wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry last week in a letter made public Tuesday. A law passed by Congress in December states that, if the Palestinians initiate action against Israel at the court, the State Department would have to restrict U.S. aid to the PA. The letter was signed by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and ranking member Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), as well as Reps. Ted Poe (R-Texas), William Keating (D-Mass.), Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Albio Sires (D-N.J.) and Chris Smith (R-N.J.).
2015-01-29 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive