The Palestinian Authority has purchased a $50 million private jet for the use of its President Mahmoud Abbas at the same time its finances face a massive cut through the withdrawal of U.S. funding.
Hadashot news reported the purchase on Wednesday, but did not provide sourcing for the claim. It said the plane will be delivered to Jordan in coming weeks and will be stationed there for personal use by the 83-year-old leader. Funding is alleged to have come via the PA budget ($20 million) and from the Palestinian National Fund ($30 million).
The news comes just weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Abbas he was willing to cut aid to the Palestinian Authority, criticizing Palestinian leaders for showing “no appreciation or respect” to the U.S. and being “no longer willing to talk peace.”
As Breitbart Jerusalem reported, the context for Trump’s remarks was the administration’s announcement that it was suspending $255 million in aid to Pakistan because of that government’s alleged “double game” on terrorism.
It’s not only Pakistan that we pay billions of dollars to for nothing, but also many other countries, and others. As an example, we pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect. They don’t even want to negotiate a long overdue…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
…peace treaty with Israel. We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table, but Israel, for that, would have had to pay more. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
UN Ambassador Nikki Haley added that the Trump administration would be withholding funds for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), a special refugee program that only deals with Palestinians, until the Palestinian leaders came back to the negotiating table.
“[President Trump] doesn’t want to give any additional funding until the Palestinians agree to come back to the negotiation table, and what we saw with the resolution [on Jerusalem] was not helpful to the situation,” she told reporters.
Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com
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