Obama released $221 million to Palestinians in final hours

Outgoing administration tells Congress it will further release $6 million in foreign affairs spending

Obama administration in its final hours on Friday quietly released $221 million to the Palestinian Authority that GOP members of Congress had been blocking.

According to a State Department official, former Secretary of State John Kerry informed some lawmakers of the decision on Thursday. Congressional aides added that the Congress was informed via a written notification dated January 20, hours before President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The State Department official and congressional aides insisted on anonymity as they were not authorised to speak on the matter.



The outgoing administration told the Congress that it would further release $6 million in foreign affairs spending, including $4 million for climate change programmes, $1.25 million as voluntary fund for several United Nation orgnisations and another $1.05 million to the State Department’s Special Representatives in Pakistan and Afghanistan and the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.

The notification highlighted Obama administration’s efforts to release the money which is said to be used for humanitarian aid under US Agency for International Development, to help the Palestinian state with security and political reforms as well as promote good governance and rule of law.



The last minute allocation is likely to draw criticism from the Republican-backed Congress which had kept the decision on hold for two years following Palestinian Authority's moves to seek membership in international organisations.

It may also irk the Pro-Israel President Donald Trump who had promised to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in his presidential campaign.

This article originally appeared on the Washington Post.