Biden administration omits info on Palestinian gov's violence, Divest rhetoric from Congress report

The State Department has deleted references to the Palestinian government’s calls for violence and its support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel, according to a news report.

The information was omitted in a department report sent last week to Congress, highlighting what some consider a Biden administration effort to downplay Palestinian violence as it restarts U.S. taxpayer aid to the government, according to The Washington Free Beacon.

The report is subject to a mandatory reporting statute included in the 1990 Palestine Liberation Organization Commitments Compliance Act, the publication also reports.

The calls for violence and BDS movement are being closely tracked in Congress and were included in the former Trump administration's October 2020 report, according to copies of both reports viewed by the Free Beacon.

The State Department declined to comment on the comparison.

The Biden administration is also pushing to renew hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer aid to the Palestinian government, which remains opposed to the government of Israel, the United States’ closest and longest Middle East ally. 

Dave Vasquez, press secretary for Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz told the Free Beacon the State Department wants to downplay Palestinian incitement to stifle debate in Congress. 

Cruz has been an outspoken critic of U.S. aid to the Palestinian government and the Biden administration’s decision to send it.

"The Biden administration is committed to pouring money into Palestinian areas, in defiance of U.S. laws that restrict funding because the Palestinian Authority incites and subsidizes acts of terrorism against Israel," Vasquez told the publication. "It’s no wonder this administration would try to downplay that behavior to limit public debate over their controversial policy."