"A humanitarian official told CNN that organizations are concerned about foreign powers like China and Russia using the US aid freeze to increase their own soft power overseas. And there are concerns that non-state actors, like terrorist groups and child soldier recruiters, could gain influence in areas where US funding currently supports refugee camps, the official highlighted."

The US Agency of International Development (USAID) has issued 'stop-work orders' impacting multiple sectors following a directive from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to pause most US foreign aid.

J. David Ake/Getty Images/File

US foreign aid freeze is upending global aid and the work of contractors

By Lauren Kent, CNN

The extent of the impacts of the Trump administration’s sudden 90-day freeze of almost all foreign aid is still unclear almost a week on, as officials and aid workers overseas try to make sense of which activities must be suspended.

The suspension of foreign aid was outlined in a diplomatic cable from Secretary of State Marco Rubio last Friday.

In addition to widespread confusion around ongoing aid projects, the suspension means some aid contractors are not being paid for contracts and work that they have already completed, one aid industry source told CNN, speaking anonymously for fear of retribution.

Contractors working with USAID – many of them US-based companies and small businesses – often front the money for aid work, then submit invoices and get reimbursed later.

Now, some are not being paid for millions of dollars’ worth of services already rendered, the aid industry source said. That means there will be significant furloughs of staff at many aid contractors and subcontractors...  READ MORE  https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/30/world/us-foreign-aid-freeze-intl-latam/index.html

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The American Task Force on Palestine's mission is to advocate for a negotiated end-of-conflict agreement that is in the American national interest and allows for two states, Israel and Palestine, to live side-by-side in peace and security.

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ATFP seeks to build strong working relationships with government agencies, think tanks, NGOs, and the media. It has developed lines of communication with the US, Palestinian, Israeli and Jordanian governments to pursue its policy advocacy goals. ATFP has also engaged in humanitarian fundraising to support health and education in the Palestinian territories.

ATFP is strictly opposed to all acts of violence against civilians. The Task Force advocates the development of a Palestinian state that is democratic, pluralistic, non-militarized and neutral in armed conflicts.

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USAID

Why Institution Building in the West Bank is Critical for a Palestinian State

The United States is the leading provider of bilateral assistance to the Palestinians. We are working closely with the Palestinians to help them build the governance structures and the economy of a future state. We do this by working with all levels of government, with the private sector and with civil society. And we do so in a way that benefits not just Palestinians, but Israelis as well. From developing water infrastructure to connecting Palestinian ICT firms with Israeli companies to working with the justice sector on critical rule of law matters, we are bringing together Palestinians and Israelis to address important issues of mutual concern.

Our work with the PA helps it deliver basic services to the Palestinian people. Since 1994 the United States has helped the Palestinian health system offer improved emergency services, enhanced diagnosis and treatment, and improved administration including an integrated health information system; and ensured that more than a million Palestinians had access to clean drinking water. When people see that their public institutions work—when a village gets piped water for the first time or a businessman interacts with a well-trained broker who makes the customs process easier—this helps build confidence in the institutions of government.

This work is helping to build a more democratic, stable and secure region, which benefits Palestinians, Israelis and Americans. The interest shown by the people who came up to me following the presentation who wanted to engage further was inspiring.  It  demonstrated  the value in USAID continuing to share  the story of our support for Palestinian institution building, as one part of the two-track approach, that coupled with resumed political negotiations, can help lead to the establishment  a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel.

The American Task Force on Palestine today warmly welcomed reports that following a year of holds and delays, Congress appears to be preparing to release all outstanding US aid, totaling more than $500 million, to the Palestinian Authority.

http://www.americantaskforce.org/in_media/pr/2013/02/14/1360818000

ATFP Welcomes Reports Congress on Track to Release All US Aid to the PA

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Information: Hussein Ibish February 14, 2013 - 12:00am

The American Task Force on Palestine today warmly welcomed reports that following a year of holds and delays, Congress appears to be preparing to release all outstanding US aid, totaling more than $500 million, to the Palestinian Authority. This aid is essential for the PA budget, to meet the payroll for public employees, fund crucial institution-building programs and finance the PA security services. ATFP thanks the Obama administration and leaders in Congress for taking the initiative to release this vital assistance to the Palestinian people.

Below please find more details of the impending release in a CQ Roll Call report by journalist Emily Cadei.


CQ NEWS – POLICY Feb. 14, 2013 – 6:23 a.m.
Dropping Holds, Lawmakers Clear Path for Palestinian Aid
By Emily Cadei, CQ Roll Call

After a year of resistance, Congress appears on track to release all U.S. foreign assistance to the Palestinian government in the West Bank, which is struggling to maintain stability amid an economic crisis.

The State Department notified lawmakers in recent weeks that it wants to send more than a half-billion dollars, almost entirely economic aid, to the Palestinian Authority. In the last Congress, two House Republicans — Kay Granger of Texas, the chairwoman of the Appropriations subcommittee that funds the State Department and foreign aid, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, the then-chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee — put holds on the majority of those funds, which were from fiscal 2012.

But given worsening conditions in the West Bank and the prospect for a new push on Middle East peace talks, Granger decided not to renew her holds this Congress, an aide confirmed. And Ros-Lehtinen’s successor on Foreign Affairs, Ed Royce, R-Calif., indicated Wednesday that while he has concerns about some Palestinian Authority behavior, he is inclined to let the money out the door, with certain conditions attached.

“There are television and radio programs run out of the West Bank that actively encourage prejudice and hate and incite violence, and they’re run by the Palestinian Authority. There are also textbooks that incite violence” against Jews and Israel, Royce said. Instead of holding up aid funds, however, he has been in talks with the State Department about conditioning all U.S. assistance to the West Bank on Palestinian efforts to stamp out anti-Semitic activity. That would fall along the lines of a 2012 bill Royce introduced with California Rep. Howard L. Berman, the since-retired ranking Democrat of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

“We tie it to the package in a way that allows the State Department to utilize this as a tool in order to end the incitement,” Royce said in an interview. “I would like to see some effort, some serious effort on the part of the Palestinian Authority to cease supporting this type of counterproductive activity because it makes reconciliation all the more difficult and creates conditions which are conducive to violence.”

At issue is more than $500 million in assistance to the Palestinians Authority for fiscal 2012 and 2013. In its notification to Capitol Hill, the State Department indicated it wants to deliver $495 million to fund economic aid programs and another $200 million in direct budgetary support for the West Bank government. Another $100 million for security and law enforcement programs had already been released, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday.

“We are continuing to work with the Congress to get appropriated money released for the Palestinian Authority, because we think it’s very, very important that they remain effective in supporting the needs of the Palestinian people,” she told reporters.

There is a growing sense of urgency about the funding, given rising unemployment and general restiveness in the territory, which is largely dependent on international donors to support government functions and pay its employees.

In that regard, Israel’s decision late last month to transfer tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority — after threatening to withhold it in response to the Palestinians’ successful push to upgrade its status at the United Nations in December — was a particularly important signal.

“The Palestinian Authority is about to collapse financially, and that’s the last thing Bibi wants,” said a Democratic House aide with knowledge of the matter, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Both President Barack Obama and newly installed Secretary of State John Kerry are slated to travel to the region in the coming months to discuss efforts to restart the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel and the West have incentives to prop up the moderate government in the West Bank, which has indicated at least some interest in reaching a peace agreement, as opposed to the militant Hamas-led government in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. Israel and the United States both label Hamas a terrorist organization.

“This is a matter of stability,” agreed a Republican House aide involved in deliberations on the release of aid. “If the Palestinian Authority is not in a stable economic situation, then they’re less inclined to come back to the negotiating table.”

Rising From Ruins: Even as Israel neglects a major archaeological site in the West Bank, it is preventing the Palestinian Authority from tending to it.

"The Oslo Accords list Sebastia among the archeological sites of importance to Israel, yet Israel is not taking care of the place, arguably one of the most important set of ruins in the West Bank. Nor is it allowing the Palestinian Authority to do so. And even though USAID-supported renovation work is taking place in the village, supposedly to improve the ailing Palestinian economy by encouraging tourism in the West Bank, the international community has done nothing to oppose Israeli actions that impede tourism (and are contrary to international law)." RAJA SHEHADEH in the NYTimes

Signs outside a village in the West Bank identical to those at the entrance of Sebastia. Photo credit Bassam Almohor

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/ruins-in-the-west-bank-are-another-victim-of-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict/