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JERICHO— The Trump administration has stopped all funding to the Palestinian Authority security forces as part of the global freeze on foreign assistance, according to U.S. and Palestinian officials.
The freeze comes at a critical time for the embattled authority as it struggles to maintain its rule in pockets of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and jockeys to govern a postwar Gaza Strip. The security forces, which are chronically underfunded and widely unpopular, are nonetheless considered a linchpin to the Palestinian Authority's ability to maintain law and order in both territories.
Washington last stopped direct aid to the authority during Trump's first term but continued to fund training and reform for the security forces. Exercises and courses are run through the Jerusalem-based Office of the Security Coordinator - formerly known as the U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority - which is made up of a consortium of countries.
Brig. Gen. Anwar Rajab, spokesman for the Palestinian security forces, told The Washington Post that the United States was considered a "big donor to the PA projects" that included security training for the forces.
A former Israeli official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue said that the Palestinian Authority security forces were "not affected in any meaningful way" by the freeze and that "other donors have committed to make up the shortfall."
But the freeze has already led to cuts in some training, a colonel at the authority's Central Training Institute for security forces told The Post on Tuesday. He spoke on the condition of anonymity per his office's protocol.
A meeting planned with American officials this month to assess the authority's operation targeting militants in the Jenin refugee camp - which stopped after Israeli forces invaded last month - was postponed and has not been rescheduled, he said. Washington was also funding the building of a virtual shooting range, which the institute needs because Israel will not permit the importation of bullets for live-fire training sessions, the colonel said. Though the project was almost completed, the institute is seeking alternative funders because of the U.S. freeze, he said.
Confirmation of the aid freeze comes amid widespread confusion about programs the Trump administration is saving or suspending.
U.S. officials have been loath to specify what programs are spared under exemptions issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio for "lifesaving" assistance, aid to Israel, HIV prevention programs and other priorities. And even in cases when exemptions apply, aid organizations have in many cases been unable to continue to work because Rubio's directives have effectively shut down the payment systems required to draw down funds.
The United States has for years supported the Palestinian Authority security forces, viewing them as critical to Israel's security. The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs has provided approximately $1.1 billion in civilian security and justice assistance to support the authority's security forces since 2007, the State Department said last year.
The Biden administration also backed proposals for the Palestinian Authority to play a key role in postwar Gaza, which both Israel and Hamas, the authority's internal rival, oppose.
The authority is struggling to control a new generation of Palestinian militancy in the West Bank that's centered in the territory's northern refugee camps and draws support from widespread frustration with the aging authority leadership, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, who is 89.
The State Department said the funding is under review but did not provide clarity on when a determination is likely to be made. "The Department and USAID paused nearly all foreign assistance," the department said in a statement, referring to the U.S. Agency for International Development. "The Department of State has granted waivers for critical programming that aligns with Administration priorities in the region."
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