U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians
Jim Zanotti
Analyst in Middle Eastern Affairs
January 8, 2010
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RS22967
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress

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U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians

Summary
Since the signing of the Oslo Accord in 1993 and the establishment of limited Palestinian self-
rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1994, the U.S. government has committed over $3.5
billion in bilateral assistance to the Palestinians. Since the death of Yasser Arafat in November
2004, U.S. assistance to the Palestinians has been averaging about $400 million a year. During the
1990s, U.S. foreign aid to the Palestinians averaged approximately $75 million per year. Despite
more robust levels of assistance this decade, Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Hamas’s heightened
role in Palestinian politics have made it more difficult to implement effective and lasting aid
projects that serve U.S. interests.
U.S. aid to the Palestinians has fluctuated considerably over the past five years, largely due to
Hamas’s changing role within the Palestinian Authority (PA). After Hamas led the PA government
for over a year, its forcible takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 led to the creation of a non-
Hamas government in the West Bank—resulting in different models of governance for the two
Palestinian territories. Since then, the United States has dramatically boosted aid levels to bolster
the PA in the West Bank and President Mahmoud Abbas vis-à-vis Hamas. The United States has
appropriated or reprogrammed nearly $2 billion since 2007 in support of PA Prime Minister
Salam Fayyad’s security, governance, development, and reform programs, including $650 million
for direct budgetary assistance to the PA and nearly $400 million (toward training, non-lethal
equipment, facilities, strategic planning, and administration) for strengthening and reforming PA
security forces and criminal justice systems in the West Bank. The remainder is for programs
administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by non-
governmental organizations in humanitarian assistance, economic development, democratic
reform, improving water access and other infrastructure, health care, education, and vocational
training. In December 2009, Congress approved $500 million in total FY2010 assistance pursuant
to P.L. 111-117, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010.
Because of congressional concerns that, among other things, U.S. funds might be diverted to
Palestinian terrorist groups, much of this aid is subject to a host of vetting and oversight
requirements and legislative restrictions. Experts advise that PA stability appears to hinge on
improved security, economic development, Israeli cooperation, and the continuation of high
levels of foreign assistance. The possibility of a consensus or unity government to address the
problem of divided rule among Palestinians could lead to a full or partial U.S. aid cutoff if Hamas
is included in the government and does not change its stance toward Israel. Even if the immediate
objectives of U.S. assistance programs for the Palestinians are met, lack of progress toward a
politically legitimate and peaceful two-state solution could undermine the utility of U.S. aid in
helping the Palestinians become more cohesive, stable, and self-reliant over the long term.

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Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1
Overview and Recent Developments ........................................................................................... 1
Types of U.S. Bilateral Aid to the Palestinians ............................................................................. 3
Project Assistance Through USAID....................................................................................... 4
Types of Funding Programs............................................................................................. 4
Vetting Requirements and Procedures.............................................................................. 4
Direct Assistance to the Palestinian Authority........................................................................ 5
U.S. Security Assistance to the Palestinian Authority............................................................. 7
U.S. Contributions to UNRWA.................................................................................................... 8
Overview .............................................................................................................................. 8
Issues for Congress—Vetting and Oversight ........................................................................ 10
GAO Report—May 2009 .............................................................................................. 10
Concerns Over Possible Resettlement of Palestinian Refugees ...................................... 12
Legislation .................................................................................................................... 13
Factors in Determining Future Aid ............................................................................................ 13
Effectiveness of U.S. Assistance in Strengthening the PA in the West Bank.......................... 13
Economic Development and International Donor Assistance ............................................... 14
Hamas and a “Unity Government”?..................................................................................... 15
Questions Regarding a Two-State Solution .......................................................................... 16

Tables
Table 1. U.S. Bilateral Assistance to the Palestinians, FY2004-FY2010 ....................................... 3
Table 2. Proposed Spending Plan for FY2010 Bilateral Assistance............................................... 3
Table 3. Historical U.S. Government Contributions to UNRWA .................................................. 9

Appendixes
Appendix A. Hamas’s Role in a “Unity Government”—Different Approach to Aid
Conditions?............................................................................................................................ 18

Contacts
Author Contact Information ...................................................................................................... 20

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Introduction
Since the signing of the Oslo Accord in 1993 and the establishment of limited Palestinian self-
rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the mid-1990s, the U.S. government has committed over
$3.5 billion in bilateral assistance to the Palestinians. This assistance, which includes $500
million appropriated in December 2009 pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010
(P.L. 111-117), has focused on the further development of the Palestinian economic, social
services, and civil society sectors; and on strengthening the processes, governance, and security-
providing capacities of Palestinian Authority (PA) institutions, through partnerships with U.S. and
Palestinian organizations. Nevertheless, significant legislative conditions, limitations, and
restrictions remain attached to certain aid given to Palestinians.1
Since the death of Yasser Arafat in November 2004, U.S. assistance to the Palestinians has been
averaging close to $400 million a year, with funding levels spiking to more than double the
average for FY2009 to address (1) humanitarian needs in Gaza during and after the December
2008-January 2009 Israel-Hamas Gaza conflict; and (2) reform, security, and development
priorities in the West Bank. Since 2007, the United States has appropriated or reprogrammed
nearly $2 billion in support of PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s security, governance,
development, and reform programs, including $650 million for direct budgetary assistance to the
PA and nearly $400 million in security and criminal justice sector assistance for the PA in the
West Bank. The remainder is for project assistance administered by the U.S. Agency for
International Development. During the 1990s, U.S. foreign aid to the Palestinians averaged
approximately $75 million per year. Despite more robust levels of assistance in the past decade,
Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Hamas’s heightened role in Palestinian politics have made it more
difficult to implement effective and lasting aid projects that serve U.S. interests. Contributions
from the United States to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near
East (UNRWA) (which have been made since the time of UNRWA’s inception in 1950) have
continued.
Overview and Recent Developments
The level of U.S. assistance to the Palestinians—among the largest per capita recipients of foreign
aid worldwide2—has fluctuated considerably since it was initiated following the establishment of
limited Palestinian self-rule in the mid-1990s. Fluctuations have been particularly significant over
the past three years—due mainly to the on-again, off-again role of Hamas within the Palestinian
Authority (PA). Hamas is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. State
Department. After the 2006 Hamas victory in Palestinian Legislative Council elections, U.S.
assistance to the Palestinians was restructured and reduced. The United States halted direct
foreign aid to the PA but continued providing humanitarian and project assistance to the
Palestinian people through international and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The ban
on direct assistance continued during the brief tenure of a Hamas-led unity government (February

1 See P.L. 111-117, Secs. 7034-7040. These conditions include a restriction on aid to Hamas (including Hamas
affiliates and any government of which Hamas is a member) or to a Palestinian state unless commitments toward
peaceful coexistence with Israel are made and other requirements met by certain Palestinian parties.
2 See U.N. Development Programme 2007/08 Human Development Report 18: Flows of Aid, Private Capital and Debt
at http://hdrstats.undp.org/indicators/171.html.
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to June 2007). During that time, the United States and the other members of the international
Quartet (the United Nations, the European Union, and Russia) unsuccessfully demanded that
Hamas accept the “Quartet principles”—recognition of Israel’s right to exist, renunciation of
violence, and acceptance of previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.
Subsequent events, however, altered the situation dramatically. In June 2007, Hamas forcibly
took control of the Gaza Strip. PA President Mahmoud Abbas (head of the Fatah party), calling
the move a “coup,” dissolved the unity government and tasked the politically independent
technocrat Salam Fayyad to serve as prime minister and organize a new PA “caretaker”
government in the West Bank. Within days, the United States lifted its economic and political
embargo on the PA.
The Bush Administration and Congress then boosted U.S. aid levels in hopes of fostering an
economic and security climate conducive to Palestinian statehood. The revival of Israeli-
Palestinian negotiations for a final-status agreement in conjunction with the Annapolis
Conference of November 2007 provided further impetus for U.S. economic support of the
institutional and societal building blocks deemed crucial for Palestinian self-governance. The
Obama Administration has thus far advocated a similar approach.
In March 2009, the Obama Administration pledged $900 million in U.S. assistance to the
Palestinians to address both post-conflict humanitarian needs in Gaza and reform and
development priorities in the West Bank. The pledge was exceeded by appropriations made in the
Omnibus Appropriation Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-8) and the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009
(P.L. 111-32). P.L. 111-32 also included a provision that applies different conditions than those
applied by previous FY2008 and FY2009 appropriations legislation to possible U.S. assistance to
a Palestinian power-sharing government that includes Hamas. P.L. 111-117, which provides $500
million in bilateral assistance to the Palestinians for FY2010, applies the same conditions as P.L.
111-32 did for FY2009 supplemental funding.
In the past year, the United States and others within the international community have publicized
their efforts to facilitate post-conflict recovery in Gaza. However, Hamas’s control of Gaza
presents a conundrum. No one, including Israel and the PA, has figured out how to assist Gaza’s
population without bolstering Hamas, and thus aside from humanitarian assistance, the issue has
been largely ignored, despite aspirational pledges otherwise.3 Many observers believe that either
Hamas’s positions on the Quartet principles or its control over Gaza would have to change before
the United States might consider dedicating substantial resources toward the reconstruction of
buildings and infrastructure in Gaza, with the possible exception of U.N. facilities and other
special cases such as the American International School (if necessary construction materials can
be brought through Gaza’s border crossings).

3 See, e.g., Failing Gaza: No rebuilding, no recovery, no more excuses (A report one year after Operation Cast Lead),
Amnesty International UK, et al., December 2009, available at
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_20012.pdf.
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Types of U.S. Bilateral Aid to the Palestinians
Table 1. U.S. Bilateral Assistance to the Palestinians, FY2004-FY2010
(regular and supplemental appropriations; current year $ in millions)
Account
FY2004 FY2005 FY2006 FY2007 FY2008 FY2009
FY2010

ESF
74.5 224.4 148.5 50.0 389.5 776.0 400.4
P.L. 480 Title II
- 6.0
4.4
19.488
- - -
(Food Aid)
INCLEa
- - - - 25.0
184.0
100.0
NADRb
- - - - - - 2.5c
Transition
Aid - - 0.343
- - - -
Total
74.5 230.4 153.243
69.488 414.5 960.0 502.9
Sources: U.S. Department of State, USAID.
Notes: All amounts are approximate; for purposes of this table and this report, “bilateral assistance” does not
include U.S. contributions to UNRWA or other international organizations from the Migration and Refugee
Assistance (MRA) or Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) accounts, regardless of how the term
is defined in legislation.
a. INCLE stands for International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement. INCLE figures do not include
$86.362 million reprogrammed into the INCLE account by President Bush in January 2007 (see “Direct
Assistance to the Palestinian Authority” below).
b. NADR stands for Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining and Related Programs.
c. According to the State Department, the counterterrorism training program for which this funding was
contemplated is no longer slated to take place during FY2010.
Table 2. Proposed Spending Plan for FY2010 Bilateral Assistance
Amount Purpose
Economic Support Fund

($400.4 million total)
$150 million
Direct budgetary assistance to Palestinian Authority (PA) in West Bank
(helping to discharge PA debt obligations, which are primarily incurred in
order to pay the salaries of PA employees)
$250.4 million
Assistance for the West Bank and Gaza (through USAID)a
• $38 million – governance, rule of law, civil society
• $93.5 million – health, education, social services
• $95 million – economic development
• $23.9 million – humanitarian assistance
International Narcotics Control
and Law Enforcement ($100
million total)
$96 million
Training, non-lethal equipment, and garrisoning assistance to PA security
forces in the West Bank, supporting efforts by the U.S. Security Coordinator
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Amount Purpose
$4 million
Governance, rule of law, human rights, and institution-building assistance,
including to strengthen PA ministries and the justice system and to encourage
judicial independence
Source: FY2010 Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations, Department of State
Notes: All amounts are approximate.
a. See footnote 4.
Project Assistance Through USAID
Types of Funding Programs
Most aid to the Palestinians is appropriated through the Economic Support Fund (ESF) account
and provided by USAID to U.S.-based non-governmental organizations operating in the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip.4 Funds are allocated in this program for projects in sectors such as
humanitarian assistance, economic development, democratic reform, improving water access and
other infrastructure, health care, education, and vocational training (currently most, if not all,
funds for the Gaza Strip are dedicated to humanitarian assistance and economic recovery needs).
See Table 2 above for the Obama Administration’s proposed spending plan for FY2010 ESF West
Bank/Gaza assistance.
Vetting Requirements and Procedures
USAID’s West Bank and Gaza program is subject to a vetting process (for non-U.S.
organizations) and to yearly audits intended to ensure that funds are not diverted to Hamas or
other organizations classified as terrorist groups by the U.S. government.5 This vetting process
has become more rigorous in recent years in response to allegations that U.S. economic assistance
was indirectly supporting Palestinian terrorist groups, and following an internal audit in which

4 The FY2010 Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations, Department of State (Book II), p. 459,
available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/124072.pdf, stated that “All assistance programs for Gaza
funded under this request will, consistent with legislative requirements, work through vetted non-governmental or
international organizations to meet U.S. Government objectives in Gaza. Beyond immediate humanitarian relief,
successful implementation of programs in Gaza is dependent on the establishment of a durable ceasefire, the creation of
an operating environment in which Hamas does not interfere with U.S.-funded programs and activities and greater
access for essential materials and commodities to Gaza. The U.S. Government will work with the PA and implementing
partners to follow established safeguards that will ensure funding is only used where and by whom it is intended. It will
similarly work with the Government of Israel to develop an effective crossings regime that enables the flow of
humanitarian and commercial goods without compromising Israeli security concerns.”
5 P.L. 111-117, Sec. 7039(b) sets forth the legal requirements for vetting: “Prior to the obligation of funds appropriated
by this Act under the heading ‘Economic Support Fund’ for assistance for the West Bank and Gaza, the Secretary of
State shall take all appropriate steps to ensure that such assistance is not provided to or through any individual, private
or government entity, or educational institution that the Secretary knows or has reason to believe advocates, plans,
sponsors, engages in, or has engaged in, terrorist activity nor, with respect to private entities or educational institutions,
those that have as a principal officer of the entity’s governing board or governing board of trustees any individual that
has been determined to be involved in, or advocating terrorist activity or determined to be a member of a designated
foreign terrorist organization: Provided, That the Secretary of State shall, as appropriate, establish procedures
specifying the steps to be taken in carrying out this subsection and shall terminate assistance to any individual, entity,
or educational institution which the Secretary has determined to be involved in or advocating terrorist activity.”
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USAID concluded it could not “reasonably ensure” that its money would not wind up in terrorist
hands.6
A February 2009 statement from USAID described its revamped vetting procedures as follows:
All NGOs applying for grants from USAID are required to certify, before award of the grant
will be made, that they do not provide material support to terrorists.... Before making an
award of either a contract or a grant to a local NGO, the USAID West Bank/Gaza Mission
checks the organization and its principal officers, directors and other key personnel against
lists maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) within the U.S. Department
of Treasury. The Mission also checks these organizations and individuals through law
enforcement and intelligence community systems accessed by USAID’s Office of Security.
At present, the Mission collects additional information up front in addition to the individual’s
full [four-part] name, such as a government issued photo-ID number and the individual’s
date and place of birth.... [USAID’s] West Bank/Gaza program possess[es] the most
comprehensive partner vetting system for foreign assistance throughout the U.S.
Government.7
Other sources corroborate the assertion made in USAID’s statement that its West Bank and Gaza
program is one of the most, if not the most, rigorously vetted USAID programs worldwide.8 A
May 2009 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that USAID had strengthened
its antiterrorism politics and procedures in response to recommendations GAO had made in a
2006 report.9
Direct Assistance to the Palestinian Authority
According to annual foreign operations appropriations laws, congressionally approved funds for
the West Bank and Gaza Strip cannot be given directly to the PA unless the President submits a
waiver to Congress stating that doing so is in the interest of national security, and the Secretary of

6 “Audit: Terrorists Got U.S. Aid; Agency’s Screening Called Inadequate,” Chicago Tribune, November 16, 2007. In
February 2008, then-USAID Administrator and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance Henrietta Fore said, in testimony
before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, that Congress’s
“strong support and vigilance” was encouraging the adoption of more rigorous vetting measures. Testimony of
Henrietta Fore, USAID Administrator and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance, House Appropriations Subcommittee
on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Holds Hearing on the Fiscal 2009 Budget for the U.S. Agency for
International Development, February 27, 2008.
7 Statement issued by USAID to CRS on February 5, 2009. USAID does not subject U.S. organizations to vetting due
to U.S. privacy law concerns. See U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Measures to Prevent Inadvertent
Payments to Terrorists Under Palestinian Aid Programs Have Been Strengthened, but Some Weaknesses Remain, GAO
Foreign Assistance Report 09-622, May 2009, available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09622.pdf.
8 See Walter Pincus, “Plan for Terror Screening of Aid Groups Cut Drastically,” Washington Post, August 30, 2007;
Federal Register, vol. 2, no. 36, pp. 39042-39044. The statement issued by USAID to CRS on February 5, 2009
directly challenged a recent article’s allegation that USAID had not yet implemented its new “partner vetting system”
(PVS) in West Bank/Gaza. See Matthew Levitt, “How Not to Fund Hamas: Scrutinize Those Who Receive U.S. Aid,”
New York Daily News, February 4, 2009. The USAID statement asserted that the article’s author was probably
confusing the already rolled-out West Bank/Gaza pilot PVS with the PVS that was awaiting final approval to be rolled
out for USAID’s other worldwide programs.
9 See GAO, op. cit. A schematic detailing USAID’s vetting process is found on page 42 of the report. GAO did
recommend in the report that USAID take steps to ensure that it and its primary contractors use the same rigor at the
subcontractor level that they employed in requiring antiterrorism clauses and certifications during their contracting
process.
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State certifies that there is a single PA treasury account, civil service roster, and payroll.10 Current
law also places conditions on aid to any power-sharing PA government “of which Hamas is a
member” (for further discussion, see “Hamas and a “Unity Government”?” and Appendix A
below). Even after money is transferred to the PA’s treasury account, the United States retains
prior approval of any transactions from that account, along with a three-year power of audit over
those funds.11
Recent instances in which the United States has provided direct assistance to or for the benefit of
the PA as a result of special presidential action include the following:
• In January 2007, President Bush reprogrammed $86.362 million in prior-year
funding into the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE)
account to support PA civil security forces loyal to President Abbas (see “U.S.
Security Assistance to the Palestinian Authority” below).12 Chairwoman Nita M.
Lowey of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for State, Foreign Operations,
and Related Programs put a hold on the funds in February 2007, reportedly
seeking assurances that they would only be used for non-lethal assistance.13
Obligation of the funds for non-lethal purposes eventually began in June 2007,
the month that the Hamas-led unity government was dissolved and the new
Fayyad PA government was formed.14
• In June 2007, President Bush issued a waiver to provide an additional $18
million in direct assistance to the PA to be used for a variety of purposes,
including democracy assistance and security assistance.15
• In February 2008, President Bush issued a waiver to provide $150 million in
budgetary assistance to the PA from the ESF account to “avert a serious and
immediate financial crisis.”16 Chairwoman Lowey again declared a hold,
requesting greater details about the funds’ allocation.17 The funds were disbursed
to the PA after the State Department delivered a certification (dated March 14,
2008) directly to Chairwoman Lowey stating that the PA had established a single
treasury account and a single civil service payroll roster.18

10 See P.L. 111-117, Sec. 7040 (“Limitation on Assistance for the Palestinian Authority”). In the event of a presidential
waiver, Sec. 7040 requires the President to submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations “detailing the
justification for the waiver, the purposes for which the funds will be spent, and the accounting procedures in place to
ensure that the funds are properly disbursed. The report shall also detail the steps the Palestinian Authority has taken to
arrest terrorists, confiscate weapons and dismantle the terrorist infrastructure.”
11 Congressional briefing with State Department and USAID officials, July 9, 2009.
12 See Presidential Determination No. 2007-11. Under Chapter 8 of Part I (Section 481) of the 1961 Foreign Assistance
Act (as amended): “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President is authorized to furnish assistance to any
country or international organization, on such terms and conditions as he may determine, for the control of narcotic and
psychotropic drugs and other controlled substances, or for other anticrime purposes.”
13 See “Splits Between U.S. and Europe Over Aid for Palestinians,” International Herald Tribune, February 22, 2007.
14 CRS conversation with U.S. Department of State official, September 16, 2008.
15 See Presidential Determination No. 2007-20.
16 See Presidential Determination No. 2008-12.
17 “Appropriator Wants Palestinian Authority Aid on Hold Until Accountability in Place,” CQToday, March 4, 2008.
18 The certification was required by the 2008 foreign operations appropriations bill. See Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-161), Division J, Title III, Economic Support Fund.
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• In October 2008, another $150 million in budgetary assistance from the ESF
account was provided to the PA via presidential waiver.19
• In July 2009, $200 million in ESF money was transferred to the PA in the wake
of a waiver issued by President Obama.20
• In November 2009, $75 million in budgetary assistance was provided to the PA
under the July presidential waiver as an advance on FY2010 ESF funds, pursuant
to a continuing resolution (later appropriated pursuant to P.L. 111-117).
U.S. Security Assistance to the Palestinian Authority21
As mentioned above, aid has been given to train, reform, advise, house, and provide non-lethal
equipment for PA civil security forces in the West Bank loyal to President Abbas in an effort both
to counter militants from organizations such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and to
establish the rule of law for an expected Palestinian state. A small amount of training assistance
also has been provided to strengthen and reform the PA criminal justice sector. This assistance has
come from the INCLE account—to which a total of $395.4 million (including $100 million in
FY2010 funding—see Table 2 above for a description) has been appropriated or reprogrammed
for use in the West Bank since 2007.
Since Hamas gained control of the Gaza Strip, Lieutenant General Keith Dayton, the U.S.
Security Coordinator (USSC) for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, has worked in coordination
with the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
(INL) to help train roughly 400 Presidential Guardsmen and 2,200 National Security Forces
troops at the International Police Training Center near Amman, Jordan. The USSC reportedly
plans to help organize and train six additional 500-man NSF battalions. Most reports agree that
law and order have improved where these PA forces have been deployed. Yet, uncertainty remains
over the durability of these improvements and their connection with broader Palestinian economic
and civil society development and with progress on Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, as well as
over the willingness and ability of the forces to incapacitate militants. The USSC/INL program
exists alongside a European Union police and justice sector train-and-equip program (known as
EUPOL COPPS—the EU Police Co-ordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support), and
alongside other assistance and training programs reportedly provided to Palestinian security
forces and intelligence organizations by various countries, including probable covert U.S.
assistance programs.22 The aspiration to fully coordinate international security assistance efforts
and to fully consolidate the various PA security forces under unified civilian control that is
accountable to rule of law and to human rights norms remains unfulfilled.
Some Palestinians and outside observers assert that the effectiveness and credibility of PA
operations are undermined by Israeli restrictions—including curfews, checkpoints, no-go zones,

19 See Presidential Determination No. 2009-02.
20 See Presidential Determination No. 2009-23.
21 For further information on this subject, see CRS Report R40664, U.S. Security Assistance to the Palestinian
Authority, by Jim Zanotti.
22 See, e.g., Ian Cobain, “CIA working with Palestinian security agents,” guardian.co.uk, December 17, 2009; Yezid
Sayigh, “‘Fixing Broken Windows’: Security Sector Reform in Palestine, Lebanon and Yemen,” Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace, October 2009, available at
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/security_sector_reform.pdf.
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and limitations on international arms and equipment transfers—as well as by Israel’s own security
operations in the West Bank23 and its December 2008-January 2009 military campaign in Gaza.
Israel claims that its continuing operations are necessary in order to reduce the threat of terrorism
emanating from the West Bank. These operations underscore the fact that the Israeli-Palestinian
agreements that authorized the creation of Palestinian security forces in the 1990s in areas of
limited Palestinian self-rule contained clauses that preserved Israel’s prerogative to conduct
operations in those areas for purposes of its own security.
U.S. Contributions to UNRWA
Overview
The United States is the largest single-state donor to UNRWA, which provides food, shelter,
medical care, and education for many of the original refugees from the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and
their descendants—now comprising approximately 4.6 million Palestinians in Jordan, Syria,
Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza.24 U.S. contributions to UNRWA—separate from U.S.
bilateral aid to the West Bank and Gaza—come from the Migration and Refugee Assistance
(MRA) account and the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) account. Since
UNRWA’s inception in 1950, the United States has provided the agency with over $3.5 billion in
contributions (see Table 3 below).
The budget for UNRWA’s core activities (general fund) in 2008 was $541.8 million, although the
contributions it receives from mostly Western governments, international organizations, and
private donors25 routinely come in under budget (the 2008 funding gap was $87.4 million),
forcing the organization to reduce some planned services. UNRWA is concerned that the global
economic downturn might worsen its shortfalls. It also creates special emergency funds for
pressing humanitarian needs, such as in the wake of the 2008-2009 Gaza conflict. U.S.
contributions (which are made from the Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) and
Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) accounts managed by the State
Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM)) totaled $268 million for
FY2009 ($116 million for the general fund, $152 million for emergency funds) and $185 million
for FY2008 ($100 and $85 million, respectively).

23 See International Crisis Group, Ruling Palestine II: The West Bank Model? Middle East Report No. 79, July 17,
2008, available at
http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/middle_east___north_africa/arab_israeli_conflict/79_ruling_palestine_ii
___the_west_bank_model.pdf.
24 For further information on UNRWA, see CRS Report RS21668, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), by Rhoda Margesson.
25 According to UNRWA’s website
(http://www.un.org/unrwa/donors/docs/Total_Contributions_to_UNRWA_2008_%20All_Categories_of_Funding.pdf),
U.S. contributions in 2008 constituted approximately 18.4% of the UNRWA General Fund budget and 23.4% of the
total budget. Aggregate contributions from the European Commission and European states (including both EU
members and non-members) and regions constituted approximately 60% of the total budget.
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Table 3. Historical U.S. Government Contributions to UNRWA
(in $ millions)
Fiscal Year(s)
Amount
Fiscal Year(s)
Amount
1950-1989 1,473.3
2000
89.0
1990 57.0 2001 123.0
1991 75.6 2002 119.3
1992 69.0 2003 134.0
1993 73.8 2004 127.4
1994 78.2 2005 108.0
1995 74.8 2006 137.0
1996 77.0 2007 154.2
1997 79.2 2008 184.7
1998 78.3 2009 268.0
1999 80.5 TOTAL 3,661.3
Source: U.S. Department of State
Notes: All amounts are approximate.
Until the 1990s, Arab governments refrained from contributing to UNRWA’s budget in an effort
to keep the Palestinian refugee issue on the international agenda and to press Israel to accept
responsibility for their plight. Since then, most Arab states have made relatively small annual
contributions.
In Gaza, most observers acknowledge that the role of UNRWA in providing basic services (i.e.,
food, health care, education) takes much of the governing burden off Hamas. As a result, some
complain that this amounts to UNRWA’s enabling of Hamas and is an argument militating for its
activities to be discontinued or scaled back. However, many others, U.S. and Israeli officials
included, believe that UNRWA plays a valuable role by providing stability and serving as the eyes
and ears of the international community in Gaza. They generally prefer UNRWA to the uncertain
alternative that might emerge if UNRWA were removed from the picture.26 It is not clear whether
the tensions that arose between Israel and UNRWA during the 2008-2009 Gaza conflict over
casualties among UNRWA staff and Palestinian civilians and damage to U.N.-marked property
that resulted from Israeli military operations will have a significant and/or lasting effect on
UNRWA’s future operations in Gaza.27

26 See FY2010 Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations, Department of State (Book I), p. 73,
available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/123415.pdf: “The FY 2010 request also includes continuing
strong support to UNRWA as the sole UN agency providing education, health, and other assistance to over 4.6 million
Palestinian refugees, funding that is critical to meeting basic humanitarian needs that otherwise would likely be met by
extremist groups, particularly in Gaza and Lebanon. The ongoing crisis in Gaza highlighted UNRWA’s critical role in
meeting the humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees and fostering regional stability.”
27 For further information on U.S. humanitarian assistance in relation to the Gaza conflict and on Israel-UNRWA
tensions during the Gaza conflict, see CRS Report R40101, Israel and Hamas: Conflict in Gaza (2008-2009),
coordinated by Jim Zanotti.
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Issues for Congress—Vetting and Oversight
Some observers, including a former general counsel for UNRWA, have criticized UNRWA for,
among other things, insufficient or flawed vetting procedures and engaging in political
advocacy.28 UNRWA and its supporters, however, maintain that UNRWA officials are fulfilling
their mandated roles as well as can be expected under challenging circumstances (i.e., UNRWA’s
lack of a robust policing capability and other operational limitations, political pressures, security
concerns). 29
In testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and
Related Programs on April 23, 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke for the
Obama Administration regarding U.S. oversight of contributions to UNRWA:
We have made it clear to UNRWA, the United Nations Relief And Works Agency, that we
intend to carefully track any aid that they receive. They have taken additional steps, partly at
our urging, to make their process more transparent, consistent with both United Nations
commitments and U.S. legislation. They conduct background checks on employees. They
share staff lists with us and with Israel. They prohibit staff participation in political activities.
They launch investigations upon receiving information from Israel, us, or anyone else about
any staff member engaging in inappropriate or illicit activities. They are actually
investigating staff members right now who were elected in internal elections within Gaza.
And we have pressed them very hard because they have to earn our confidence in this.30
The primary concern raised by some Members of Congress is that U.S. contributions to UNRWA
might be used to support terrorists. Section 301(c) of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act (P.L. 87-
195), as amended, says that “No contributions by the United States shall be made to [UNRWA]
except on the condition that [UNRWA] take[s] all possible measures to assure that no part of the
United States contribution shall be used to furnish assistance to any refugee who is receiving
military training as a member of the so-called Palestine Liberation Army or any other guerrilla
type organization or who has engaged in any act of terrorism.”
GAO Report—May 2009
The May 2009 GAO report said that, since a previous GAO report in 2003, UNRWA and the
State Department had strengthened their policies and procedures to conform with Section 301(c)
legal requirements, but that “weaknesses remain.”31 Neither report found UNRWA to be in

28 See James G. Lindsay, Fixing UNRWA: Repairing the UN’s Troubled System of Aid to Palestinian Refugees,
Washington Institute of Near East Policy Policy Focus #91, January 2009, available at
http://www.thewashingtoninstitute.org/pubPDFs/PolicyFocus91.pdf. See also James Phillips, “The Gaza Aid Package:
Time to Rethink U.S. Foreign Assistance to the Palestinians,” The Heritage Foundation WebMemo No. 2333, March 9,
2009, available at http://www.heritage.org/Research/MiddleEast/wm2333.cfm.
29 A direct written rebuttal by Israeli academic Maya Rosenfeld to the former UNRWA general counsel’s critiques is
carried by UNRWA’s website at http://www.un.org/unrwa/allegations/Rejoinder2Lindsay_jan09.pdf. UNRWA also
maintains a “Setting the Record Straight” section on its website to address common critiques leveled at the agency,
available at http://www.un.org/unrwa/allegations/index.html.
30 Transcript of remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, House Appropriations Subcommittee on State,
Foreign Operations and Related Programs hearing: “Supplemental Request,” April 23, 2009.
31 See GAO, op. cit.
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noncompliance with Section 301(c), and to date, no arm of the U.S. government has made such a
finding. The following are some points regarding UNRWA from the 2009 report:
• The State Department has not established written criteria to use in evaluating
UNRWA’s compliance with Section 301(c). State officials said compliance is
evaluated based on State’s “internal level of confidence that UNRWA has taken
all possible measures to ensure that terrorists are not receiving assistance, such as
having procedures in place and taking measures to respond to issues that arise.”
State has not defined the term “all possible measures,” nor has it defined what
would constitute noncompliance with Section 301(c). The report recommended
that State consider establishing evaluation criteria, and in a May 6, 2009,
response to a draft of the report (included as an appendix), State concurred with
GAO’s recommendation and said that it would “work together with UNRWA to
develop criteria, as appropriate,” without making further specification.32
• UNRWA said that it screens its staff and contractors every six months and that it
screened all 4.6 million Palestinian refugees and microfinance clients in
December 2008 (and intends to make this a routine procedure) for terrorist ties to
Al-Qaida and the Taliban, pursuant to a list established pursuant to U.N. Security
Council Resolution 1267. UNRWA said that it is unable to screen those of its
beneficiaries who are displaced persons from the 1967 war because it does not
collect information on those persons.33
• UNRWA’s UN 1267 terrorist screening list does not include Hamas, Hezbollah,
or most other militant groups that operate in UNRWA’s surroundings. UNRWA is
unwilling to screen its contractors and funding recipients against a list supplied
by only one U.N. member state, such as the Department of Treasury’s OFAC list
of individuals and entities subject to U.S. sanctions. Nevertheless, UNRWA
officials did say that if notified by U.S. officials of potential matches, they would
“use the information as a trigger to conduct their own investigation,” which led to
the report’s recommendation that the State Department consider screening
UNRWA contractors, presumably so that State could alert UNRWA to any
potential OFAC list matches. GAO found a few potential matches from among
2002-2009 UNRWA contractors. State said that it is “actively assessing the
feasibility of [GAO’s] recommendation.”34
• UNRWA has established procedures to investigate inappropriate staff behavior.
UNRWA [said] that it seeks information from authorities whenever staff are
detained, convicted, or refused a permit or targeted by Israeli military forces.
UNRWA officials said they share the names of all UNRWA staff annually with
the governments of Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the Palestinian
Authority but have received no information on staff members from these
governments.”35

32 Ibid.
33 Ibid. In 2006, an organization that advocates for Palestinian refugees estimated the total number of 1967 displaced
persons to be between 800,000 and 850,000. See BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights,
Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons 2004-2005, May 2006, available at
http://www.badil.org/Publications/Books/Survey2004-2005.pdf.
34 GAO, op. cit.
35 Ibid.
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• UNRWA officials said that UNRWA provides assistance “in the context of its
humanitarian mandate, meaning that agency policy is generally not to deny
education or primary healthcare benefits.” The officials said that if a refugee was
denied benefits because of suspected militant or terrorist activities or ties, his or
her child “would not be disqualified from attending an UNRWA school.”36
Concerns Over Possible Resettlement of Palestinian Refugees
During the consideration of the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-8), concerns
surfaced over rumors being spread via the Internet that part of the Obama Administration’s $20.3
million contribution to UNRWA, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the U.N.
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs made on January 27, 2009, from the
Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) account in the wake of the Gaza conflict
might go toward resettlement of Gazan refugees in the United States. Senator John Kyl proposed
S.Amdt. 629 (“To provide that no funds may be used to resettle Palestinians from Gaza into the
United States”). Kyl, however, withdrew S.Amdt. 629 after receiving a letter from the State
Department assuring him that U.S. funds were not being used to resettle Gazans in the United
States. It is unclear whether the parties fueling the rumors were aware that ERMA contributions
have been routinely made to UNRWA during past presidential administrations and that aid
provided to UNRWA generally goes toward basic living needs and services (i.e., food, health
care, education) for the Palestinian refugees over which its mandate exists in the places the
refugees are already located (the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon).
Notwithstanding the State Department’s assurances that ERMA funds were not being used to
resettle Gazans in the United States, some have persisted in voicing their concerns on this issue.
In a July 2009 response to a CRS request for further clarification, a State Department official
stated:
The United States does not resettle Palestinian refugees who fall under the mandate of the
UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. None of the $13.5
million in ERMA funds authorized in January 2009 for UNRWA was used to resettle
Palestinians to the U.S.37
The official did acknowledge that some Palestinian refugees located outside of the territories
within UNRWA’s mandate, particularly some located in Iraq, are being processed for resettlement
to the United States.
The U.S. has recently resettled Palestinian refugees from Iraq, who are under the
responsibility of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Absent
any other durable solution for these individuals, UNHCR has referred for resettlement over
1,500 Palestinians from the Al-Waleed refugee camp in Iraq near the Syrian border to
countries that resettle refugees, including the U.S. We are currently processing these
individuals and hope to admit many of them by the first quarter of FY2010. In all, 1,350
individuals of Palestinian origin are currently being processed for U.S. resettlement, over
95% of whom are from the Al-Waleed refugee camp. We have also resettled a small number

36 Ibid.
37 CRS correspondence with State Department official, July 1, 2009.
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of Iraq-resident Palestinians who were closely associated with the U.S. mission or other U.S.
entity in Iraq.38
The official explained that these refugees are screened for potential security risks.
Palestinians from Iraq undergo screening as if they were Iraqi citizens, including the
enhanced security checks undergone by all Iraqi refugee applicants. These procedures consist
of name and biometric checks against various additional U.S. Government databases to
ensure that the applicants pose no known security risks.39
Legislation
Critiques of UNRWA’s operations are routinely raised, and some Members of Congress have
supported legislation or resolutions aimed at increasing oversight of the agency, strengthening its
vetting procedures, and/or capping U.S. contributions. H.Rept. 111-151 contained a provision
from the joint explanatory statement capping contributions to UNRWA at $119 million for its
operations in the West Bank and Gaza from FY2009 funds appropriated pursuant to P.L. 111-32.
This provision also required a report from the Secretary of State to the Committees on
Appropriations no later than 45 days following the enactment of P.L. 111-32 on various UNRWA
self-policing and transparency-promoting activities, including measures UNRWA takes to comply
with Section 301(c) of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act relating to preventing assistance to
terrorists.40 The same reporting requirement, without an accompanying cap on contributions,
applies under P.L. 111-117 for FY2010.
Factors in Determining Future Aid
Effectiveness of U.S. Assistance in Strengthening the PA in the
West Bank
Instability in the Palestinian territories is, paradoxically, both a major reason for the increases in
U.S. assistance over the past three years and a factor that could lead some to oppose maintaining
or boosting current aid levels. After Hamas’s takeover of the Gaza Strip and dismissal from the
PA in June 2007, the United States made assisting the PA with economic development and civil
security—aimed at bolstering the standing of President Abbas and the Fayyad government—a
higher priority. Yet, if the PA in Ramallah is unable, at a minimum, to achieve and maintain
popular legitimacy and competent control in the West Bank, U.S. reluctance to provide resources

38 Ibid.
39 Ibid.
40 See H.Rept. 111-151, Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference, Title XI, “Migration and
Refugee Assistance.” Also during the 111th Congress, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Ranking Minority
Member on the House Committee for Foreign Affairs, has sponsored H.R. 557 (United Nations Transparency,
Accountability, and Reform Act of 2009), which includes a section entitled “Withholding of United States
Contributions to UNRWA,” with over 100 co-sponsors; and Representative Steven Rothman has sponsored H.Con.Res.
29 (“Expressing the sense of Congress that the United Nations should take immediate steps to improve the transparency
and accountability of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in the Near
East to ensure that it is not providing funding, employment, or other support to terrorists”) with over 30 co-sponsors.40
Both H.R. 557 and H.Con.Res. 29 were referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in January 2009.
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and training might increase, given concerns that aid could be used against Israel or Palestinian
civilians, either by falling into the hands of Hamas or otherwise. Some observers argue that U.S.
assistance does not enhance the legitimacy of Abbas and the PA, but rather detracts from it by
leading some Palestinians to conclude that the PA is too beholden to the United States.41 This
debate intensified in 2009 and carried over into 2010 as Abbas faced challenges to his political
standing that were related to the Gaza conflict and to unsuccessful attempts at obtaining an Israeli
settlement freeze as a prelude to restarting Israeli-Palestinian final-status peace negotiations.
Economic Development and International Donor Assistance
The appointment in June 2007 of Salam Fayyad, a former World Bank and International
Monetary Fund official, as PA prime minister raised hopes for Palestinian reform and economic
growth that have been realized in part. Fayyad produced a Palestinian Reform and Development
Plan for 2008-2010 (PRDP) that helped garner major international donor assistance pledges and
promises of investment. International pledges of support, however, have proven insufficient to
cover the PA’s monthly budgetary expenses, occasionally requiring last-minute efforts by Fayyad
to obtain outside assistance. Concerns over meeting expenses appear likely to continue unless the
March 2009 pledges in Egypt result in substantially heightened contributions to the PA treasury.
The ultimate success of Fayyad’s PRDP appears to hinge on two factors: keeping the public
sector solvent enough to sustain long-term private sector development, and getting Israeli
restrictions loosened or lifted on the movement of goods and people both within and out of the
West Bank and Gaza.42
Several high-profile projects—housing developments, industrial parks, superstores, entertainment
complexes—have been completed or are in various stages of proposal or construction in and
around Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jericho and the northern West Bank in an effort to jumpstart private
sector development.43 Yet, most analysts advise against drawing the conclusion that the overall
economy has turned a corner. In an October 2009 Washington Post interview, Fayyad
acknowledged that the West Bank economy was growing at a rate of 8%, if not even more, but
questioned whether this growth was sustainable.44

41 See Sherifa Zuhur, Ali Abunimah, Haim Malka, Shibley Telhami, “Symposium: Hamas and the Two-State Solution:
Villain, Victim or Missing Ingredient?” Middle East Policy, vol. 15, issue 2, July 1, 2008; Transcript of National Public
Radio interview (“All Things Considered”) with Robert Malley, June 16, 2007.
42 For additional information on economic development prospects in the Palestinian territories, see CRS Report
RL34074, The Palestinians: Background and U.S. Relations, by Jim Zanotti. Israeli restrictions on movement have
been a key factor in the Palestinian economic downturn since the second Palestinian intifada (which began in late
2000), and the closure of Gaza crossings following the Hamas takeover in June 2007 has led to a near economic
standstill there. The International Crisis Group has referred to a UNDP official’s estimate that it would take five years
for Gaza to be restored simply to the unenviable state in which it was immediately before the recent conflict began in
December 2008. International Crisis Group, Gaza’s Unfinished Business, Middle East Report No. 85, April 23, 2009.
43 Some of these ventures have been supported by U.S. organizations—including the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation (OPIC), the Aspen Institute, the Center for American Progress, and CHF International—affiliated or
involved with a public-private partnership known as the Middle East Investment Initiative. See http://meiinitiative.org.
44 See Lally Weymouth, “‘Institution building’ in Palestine,” Washington Post, October 23, 2009. Many Israelis
emphasize an International Monetary Fund projection of 7% growth for the West Bank in 2009 and the loosening of
some Israel Defense Forces obstacles to Palestinian movement. Nonetheless, some Palestinians and international
analysts assert that actual and prospective economic development should not be overstated because the Palestinian
economy continues to be propped up by external aid, and uncertainty remains regarding movement and access and
regarding progress in negotiations with Israel. See The World Bank, Palestinian Economic Prospects: Aid, Access and
Reform—Economic Monitoring Report to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, September 22, 2008, available at
(continued...)
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Congress has indicated an interest in staying abreast of the economic assistance Arab states
provide to the West Bank and the PA. The joint explanatory statement to the conference report
attached to P.L. 111-117 reads:
The conferees direct the Secretary of State to provide a report to the Committees on
Appropriations not later than 180 days after enactment of this Act on international
participation, including by Arab states, in the economic development of the West Bank and
support for the Palestinian Authority, similar to that proposed by the House. This report may
be submitted in classified form, if necessary.45
Arab states (especially Gulf states) provided large amounts of aid to the Hamas-led PA
government in 2006-2007 after the United States and European Union withdrew their aid, but
following the reinstitution of U.S. and EU aid in mid-2007, most of them reduced contributions.46
Routinely, they make generous pledges (including over $1.8 billion dollars in the wake of the
2008-2009 Gaza conflict) of aid to the Palestinians, but often fulfill them only in part and after
significant delay.47 Their reluctance to fulfill pledges may stem from misgivings over “picking
sides” in Palestinian factional disputes and from concerns that without imminent prospects either
for domestic political unity or for progress on the peace process, any money contributed could be
a waste. On the part of the Gulf states in particular, reluctance may also stem from a feeling that
they are less responsible historically for the Palestinians’ current situation than Israel, the United
States, and Europe.
However, several of the West Bank investment projects discussed above are backed by Gulf states
or their citizens. Also, both Palestinian mobile phone providers, Jawwal/Paltel and the newly
established Wataniya, are majority-owned by Gulf state investment companies.48
Hamas and a “Unity Government”?
If efforts at unifying Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza under the leadership of President
Abbas or those who might succeed him in the Fatah movement and the PLO—either through
elections or political achievements that increase Fatah’s legitimacy—appear unlikely to succeed,
cohesion might be promoted through a consensus or unity PA government that is acceptable to
both Fatah and Hamas. Egyptian-facilitated efforts to reach agreement on such a government—
which remain ongoing—have been unsuccessful since the collapse of the last one following
Hamas’s takeover of Gaza in June 2007. Reportedly, the unity negotiations have been

(...continued)
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWESTBANKGAZA/Resources/AHLCSept15,08.pdf; Zahi Khouri, “The West
Bank’s Deceptive Growth,” New York Times, September 8, 2009.
45 H.Rept. 111-366.
46 See Glenn Kessler, “Arab Aid to Palestinians Often Doesn’t Fulfill Pledges,” Washington Post, July 27, 2008;
“Falling Short,” Washington Post, July 27, 2008, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/graphic/2008/07/27/GR2008072700095.html?sid=ST2008072700226.
47 Following international pressure, Saudi Arabia contributed $200 million to the PA’s budget in summer 2009. See
Press Briefing by Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey D. Feltman, New York, NY, September
26, 2009, available at http://www.state.gov/p/nea/rls/rm/2009/129669.htm. Smaller budget support contributions in
2009 were made by the Saudis and other Arab states such as the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, and Oman.
Information provided to CRS from State Department, June 2009.
48 For more information on Wataniya’s launch and the Palestinian mobile phone marketplace, see CRS Report
RL34074, The Palestinians: Background and U.S. Relations, by Jim Zanotti.
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complicated by differing factional views on various questions. These questions include how to
integrate PA and Hamas security operations, when and how to conduct Palestinian presidential
and legislative elections, and whom to appoint to government positions.49 A consensus or unity
government may or may not significantly depart from the development and reform objectives set
by the Fayyad government that are used as a major justification for current U.S. aid levels. The
continuation of U.S.-sponsored PA security reform efforts (see “U.S. Security Assistance to the
Palestinian Authority” above), which are aimed at consolidating all Palestinian forces under a
single, civilian-led chain of command, could be particularly difficult for Hamas and its militia to
accept.
Regardless of the objectives of a consensus or unity PA government, were it to include Hamas
without the acceptance of the “Section 620K principles” (recognition of “the Jewish state of
Israel’s right to exist” and acceptance of previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements—named after the
section in the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-446) that sets them forth) by all of
the government’s ministers, current law would require the United States to cease direct aid to the
PA (see Appendix A),50 and there could be calls for cessation or for limits on other economic
assistance to the West Bank and Gaza. Future debates might focus on whether to relax or to
tighten these restrictions, on which Palestinian party/ies should be answerable for accepting and
complying with the Section 620K principles, and on whether the President might be granted
discretion to waive aid restrictions relating to a unity government under certain conditions and/or
for specific purposes.
Assuming that the United States chooses not to engage with and/or contribute to a PA government
that includes Hamas, future debates might take place over the degree to which the United States
should actively dissuade others in the international community—particularly European and Arab
actors—from engagement and contributions.51
Questions Regarding a Two-State Solution
Even assuming that the immediate objectives of U.S. assistance to the Palestinians—relieving
humanitarian needs in Gaza and improving security and facilitating development in the West
Bank—are met, a failure to achieve progress toward a politically legitimate and peaceful two-
state solution could undermine the utility of U.S. aid in helping the Palestinians become more
cohesive, stable, and self-reliant over the long term. The Obama Administration has emphasized

49 Various proposals regarding government composition include a government composed fully of independent
“technocrats,” one with formally non-aligned technocrats who have various factional leanings, and one with actual
Fatah and Hamas members.
50 See P.L. 111-32, Sec. 1107. See also Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-446).
51 On the previous occasions in which Hamas participated in the PA government from 2006-2007, the European Union
joined the United States in refusing to provide direct assistance to the PA. There are indications, however, that
Europeans might be less willing to follow the U.S. lead in the event that another PA government including Hamas is
formed. See Muriel Asseburg and Paul Salem, “No Euro-Mediterranean Community without peace,” EU Institute for
Security Studies and European Institute of the Mediterranean, September 2009, available at
http://www.iss.europa.eu/uploads/media/10Papers-01.pdf; Andrew Rettman, “EU Countries Practice ‘Secret’
Diplomacy, Hamas Says,” euobserver.com, September 14, 2009; “British Official Calls on Hamas to Reject Violence,”
Agence France Presse, April 1, 2009; Anne Penketh, “Europe Opens Covert Talks with ‘Blacklisted’ Hamas,” The
Independent (UK), February 19, 2009. For further discussion of possible policy responses to a PA government that
includes Hamas, see the section entitled “The Role of Hamas” in CRS Report R40092, Israel and the Palestinians:
Prospects for a Two-State Solution, by Jim Zanotti.
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the United States’s continued commitment to a two-state solution, and appointed former Senator
George Mitchell as its Special Envoy for Middle East Peace in January 2009.
Nevertheless, many factors may complicate prospects for a negotiated two-state solution in the
near term. One is discord within and among Palestinian factions—reflected geographically by
divided rule in the West Bank and Gaza. Another is the right-wing Israeli government in power
since April 2009 under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that has attached provisos—such as
demilitarization—to any consideration on its part of the concept of an independent Palestinian
state. Yet another is the physical entrenchment of Israeli settlers in the West Bank and of obstacles
to Palestinian movement within the West Bank and in and out of both the West Bank and Gaza,
together with its political and socioeconomic consequences. A fourth is the possibility of course-
changing events—such as a major terrorist attack, a surprise election outcome, or an outbreak of
war—occurring in the Palestinian territories, Israel, or elsewhere in the region.52

52 For further discussion of this issue, see CRS Report R40092, Israel and the Palestinians: Prospects for a Two-State
Solution, by Jim Zanotti.
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Appendix A. Hamas’s Role in a “Unity
Government”—Different Approach to Aid
Conditions?
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-117) includes a provision that would allow
aid to be provided to a power-sharing PA government of which Hamas is a member (see “Hamas
and a “Unity Government”?” below) if the President certifies that such a government, including
all of its ministers, has publicly accepted and is complying with the principles found in Section
620K(b)(1)(A) and (B) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended by the Palestinian
Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-446).53 These “Section 620K principles”—related to the
Quartet principles—refer to (1) a public acknowledgment of the Jewish state of Israel’s right to
exist and (2) commitment and adherence to previous international agreements (including the
Performance-Based Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
Conflict, commonly known simply as the “Roadmap”).54 The version of the provision in P.L. 111-
32 regarding aid to a potential power-sharing PA government that was found in the Obama
Administration’s FY2009 supplemental budget request did not specify whether all of the
government’s ministers would have to join in accepting and complying with the Section 620K
principles.55 This specification was made through the markup process in both Committees on
Appropriations.
Each of the provisions regarding a potential power-sharing PA government under FY2008 and
FY2009 appropriations legislation (P.L. 110-161, P.L. 110-252, P.L. 111-8, P.L. 111-32) has only
remained effective during the particular cycle to which it has pertained, and only with respect to
the funds appropriated. The provision in P.L. 111-117 follows this pattern. Thus, it does not
change any underlying, permanent legislation that pertains to funding authorization, but may only
affect appropriations for the cycle to which it pertains. This is in keeping with the general
legislative proposition that conditions explicitly attached to yearly appropriations generally do not
last beyond the relevant appropriations cycles, unlike stand-alone legislation that does.
The provision in P.L. 111-117 (which is identical to an analogous provision in P.L. 111-32) may
make conditions under which a power-sharing PA government might receive U.S. assistance less
stringent than conditions attached to FY2008 legislation and the FY2009 omnibus. Some might
maintain that by focusing on the behavior of the PA government, rather than Hamas as an
organization, the conditions on aid to the PA in P.L. 111-117 might be more in line with the focus
found in the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-446) and in executive branch policy

53 See P.L. 111-117, Section 7040(f).
54 See P.L. 111-117, Section 7040(f); Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-446), Section 2(b)(2). The text
of P.L. 111-117, Section 7040(f)(1)-(2) reads, “None of the funds appropriated ... may be made available for ... any
power-sharing government of which Hamas is a member:... [However,] assistance may be provided to a power-sharing
government only if the President certifies and reports to the Committees on Appropriations that such government,
including all of its ministers or such equivalent, has publicly accepted and is complying with the principles contained in
section 620K(b)(1)(A) and (B) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended.”
55 Language within the FY2009 supplemental request explaining the proposed provision to designate a PA power-
sharing government (instead of Hamas) as the Palestinian party subject to the presidential certification clause stated, “It
is expected that such a power-sharing government would speak authoritatively for the entire Palestinian Authority
government, including its ministries, agencies and instrumentalities.” Office of Management and Budget, FY2009
Supplemental Appropriations Request, April 9, 2009, p. 96.
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(under both the Bush and Obama Administrations) than the FY2008 and FY2009 omnibus
conditions. National Security Council spokesman Benjamin Chang said of the provision (when
first proposed in FY2009) that it was “consistent with our policy. It would prohibit assistance to a
government that does not accept the Quartet principles but would preserve the president’s
flexibility to provide such assistance if that government were to accept and comply with the
Quartet principles.”56 The exact correspondence of the provision in P.L. 111-117, when taken in
concert with P.L. 109-446 and other existing legislation, with the Quartet principles could be
subject to interpretation.57 Such an interpretation could hang on the definition of such terms as
“power-sharing government of which Hamas is a member” and “Hamas-controlled Palestinian
Authority.”
If the President does not certify that a power-sharing PA government including Hamas has
accepted and is complying with the Section 620K principles, P.L. 111-117 permits the President
to provide aid to either the PA president or judiciary—by means of a Section 620K(e) waiver on
national security grounds—if they are not members of or controlled by Hamas or another foreign
terrorist organization.58 A similar waiver authority allowed the Bush Administration to provide aid
to PA President Mahmoud Abbas and his own security forces during the time of the Hamas-
controlled government in 2006-2007.
In a House committee hearing on the FY2009 supplemental request held on April 23, 2009,
Secretary of State Clinton defended the Administration’s proposed provision on a power-sharing
government as follows:
this is a critically important time in the Middle East, and we don't know what will come from
these ongoing [Palestinian unity] talks in Cairo. But if what emerges from these talks is a
unity government that abides by the Quartet principles, we do want to have the authority to
deal with that government in the peace process or negotiations that might possibly develop.
Before providing any such waiver, the administration will consider all the relevant facts,
including who these people were, what their role in the government was, to make sure this
meets our standards and our national interest.59
One week later, at an April 30 Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the FY2009
supplemental request, Secretary Clinton defined the Administration’s view regarding which
parties within a potential PA unity government might need to commit to the Quartet principles for
the government to be eligible for U.S. funding:

56 Adam Graham-Silverman, “Bid to Ease Conditions on Aid to Palestinians Faces Tough Scrutiny,” CQToday, April
17, 2009.
57 For example, the provision in P.L. 111-117 does not expressly refer to Section 620K(b)(2) of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961, as amended by P.L. 109-446 (pertaining to progress on issues including but not limited to counter-
terrorism and institutional reform). Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has stated that this language appears “to ignore
requirements for the dismantling of the Islamist militant infrastructure and the halting of incitement before the P.A.—
before a P.A. effectively controlled by Hamas could be eligible for U.S. funds.” See Transcript of House Committee on
Foreign Affairs hearing: “New Beginnings: Foreign Policy Priorities in the Obama Administration,” April 22, 2009.
57 Adam Graham-Silverman, “Bid to Ease Conditions on Aid to Palestinians Faces Tough Scrutiny,” CQToday, April
17, 2009.
58 See P.L. 111-32, Section 1107; P.L. 109-446, Section 2(b)(2).
59 Transcript of House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs hearing:
“Supplemental Request,” April 23, 2009.
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What we have said is that if there were to be, which at this moment seems highly unlikely, a
unity government that consisted of the Palestinian Authority members from Fatah and any
members from Hamas, the government itself, plus every member of the government, would
have to commit to the [Q]uartet principles. Namely, they must renounce violence, they must
recognize Israel, and they must agree to abide by the former PLO and Palestinian Authority
agreements.60
It is unclear to what extent this statement reflects the Obama Administration’s legal interpretation
of the provision that has been included in P.L. 111-117, and to what extent it reflects the
Administration’s policy view regarding the circumstances that might justify a presidential waiver
and/or certification to authorize direct assistance to a potential unity government.
To defend the hypothetical notion of tolerating the possibility of Hamas members serving in a PA
government that would accept the Quartet conditions and/or the Section 620K conditions, Clinton
pointed out at the April 23 hearing that “we are currently funding the Lebanese government,
which has Hezbollah in it” because of a U.S. interest in supporting a government working to
prevent the “further incursion of extremism.”61 She also drew comparisons between the Israeli-
Palestinian peace process and the peace process in Northern Ireland during the 1990s (with which
she was acquainted as First Lady).

Author Contact Information

Jim Zanotti

Analyst in Middle Eastern Affairs
jzanotti@crs.loc.gov, 7-1441



60 Transcript of Senate Appropriations Committee hearing: “FY2009 Supplemental,” April 30, 2009.
61 Transcript of House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs hearing:
“Supplemental Request,” April 23, 2009.
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