Biden admin warned about potential dangers of restarting aid to Palestinians

A March 2021 State Department request shows that U.S. officials privately worried that unfreezing funds for the Palestinian Authority could indirectly benefit terrorists.

"We assess there is a high risk Hamas could potentially derive indirect, unintentional benefit from U.S. assistance to Gaza. There is less but still some risk U.S. assistance would benefit other designated groups," the State Department wrote in the document. "Notwithstanding this risk, State believes it is in our national security interest to provide assistance in the West Bank and Gaza to support the foreign policy objectives."

The document, a draft sanctions exemption request that was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, asks the Treasury Department to exempt the administration from laws designed to prevent the U.S. government from sending money to territories controlled by Palestinian terror groups. The $360 million in funds were frozen under the administration of former President Donald Trump, which cut the Palestinian Authority off from access to the money as a result of its support for terrorist organizations.