Obama Quietly Sent Palestinians $221 Million In Final Hours Of Presidency

In its waning hours, the Obama administration transferred $221 million to the Palestinian Authority (PA) that had been blocked by Republican members of Congress.

According to a State Department official and several congressional aides, former President Barack Obama's departing administration formally notified Congress of the move on the morning of Jan. 20, just hours before President Donald Trump's inauguration, the Associated Press reported. 

While Congress initially approved the funding for the Palestinians for 2015 and 2016, Republicans have increasingly called for blocking or canceling funding to the Palestinian Authority, not only because of unilateral diplomatic moves toward statehood, but also because of increasing evidence that funds are used to incite violence and provide financial rewards to terrorists.

"The easiest way to sum it up is that Congress had been looking at various behaviors from Palestine -- unilateral attempts at statehood, corruption, incitement of violence, and paying salaries to people in jail for terrorism -- and that's why the hold has been there," Dr. Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told Business Insider.

Schanzer characterized the move by Obama as "a strange message to send," and also, a shock.

"I was tracking President Obama's 11th hour moves on the Palestinians and this issue never came up once ... most analysts and observers didn't think Obama would or could do this," said Schanzer.

Schanzer pointed to the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, as an example of corruption. Abbas entered his 12th year as president this year, despite only being elected to a four-year term in 2005. 

Obama is "releasing funds to a guy that's become an autocrat," said Schanzer.

There are deep concerns that while such money may be earmarked for humanitarian purposes, it will find it's way into helping support the families of terrorists.

The Palestinian Authority rewards the families of terrorist prisoners incarcerated in Israeli prisons, as well as to those who have killed themselves in attacks on Israeli civilians. 

The total amount allocated by the Palestinian Authority budget for "the Care for the Families of the Martyrs" was reportedly about $175 million in 2016, and an additional $140 million was reportedly allocated for payments to prisoners and former prisoners.

Earlier this week Abbas was featured on the official Fatah Facebook page with a child who was holding a photo of the terrorist who led the Coastal Road massacre, the deadliest terror attack in Israeli history, where 38 Israelis, including 13 children were massacred.