Sec. 7. Assistance to address the immediate and long-term needs of the Palestinian people
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Congress finds the following: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas postponed elections planned for 2021, prompting significant criticism and exacerbating popular Palestinian opposition stemming from the absence of a Palestinian state, violations of human rights and civil liberties, official corruption, and poor governance. Since 2007, the militant organization Hamas, a United States-designated terrorist organization, has maintained control over Gaza, which faces a humanitarian crisis resulting from poor governance, recurrent conflict, and the Israeli and Egyptian blockade that restricts the movement of people and goods.
Hamas has fired rockets at Israeli population centers, resulting in deaths of civilians in Israel, as well as Palestinian civilians in Gaza due to misfires. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, imposes on assistance to the Palestinians certain restrictions and conditions, with limited exemption authorities, regarding any future Palestinian state and its governing entity, certifications and vetting prior to the obligation of funds, audit requirements, a general prohibition on assistance for the Palestinian Authority, and a prohibition on assistance for the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hamas, or any entity effectively controlled by Hamas, any power-sharing government of which Hamas is a member, or that results from an agreement with Hamas and over which Hamas exercises undue influence .
It is the sense of Congress that investments in Palestinian democracy, civil society organizations, and economic development will promote better governance and community engagement and improve the likelihood of free and fair elections, in turn setting the stage for negotiations in which a Palestinian government genuinely speaks for the Palestinian people. Subject to subsection (d), the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development are authorized to jointly provide grants on an open and competitive basis to private, nonprofit organizations to support programs that promote human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, and strengthen civil society organizations to address the immediate and long-term needs of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories in a manner that supports the sustainability of such organizations in implementing Palestinian-led humanitarian and development programs.
None of the funds made available to carry out this section, or any amendment made by this section, may be used to provide— financial assistance to the national government of any foreign country; assistance for— any individual or group the Secretary of State determines to be involved in, or advocating, terrorist activity; or any individual who is a member of a foreign terrorist organization (as designated pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1189 )); or assistance for the Palestinian Authority or the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Assistance made available under this Act, and any amendment made by this Act, shall adhere to the mission directives and vetting practices for assistance for the West Bank and Gaza, as set forth by the United States Agency for International Development. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the implementation of grants authorized under this section and the progress and impact of such grants on the Palestinian people, including effects related to civic engagement, trust in civic institutions, and the long-term viability of Palestinian civil society organizations.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the impact of past democracy and governance programming in the occupied Palestinian territories. There are authorized to be appropriated not less than $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2027 to carry out this section.
Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under paragraph
(1)for a fiscal year are authorized to remain available for 5 fiscal years.
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Sec. 7
Assistance to address the immediate and long-term needs of the Palestinian people
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