Amid the political battle over whether to release U.S. taxpayer funds to Palestinians, despite the risk that these funds would support Hamas operations, political rivals Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) took vastly different approaches.
Allred advocated for releasing hundreds of millions in U.S. taxpayer funds to Palestinians, signing a letter in 2021 demanding that money be sent quickly.
In the wake of the recent terror attacks against Israel, newly released documents show that U.S. taxpayer money was sent to the Gaza Strip despite clear warnings that the funding would likely benefit Hamas and other terror cells.
The attacks came shortly after the administration of President Joe Biden unfroze $6 billion in U.S. taxpayer funds to Iran for “humanitarian uses,” per the New York Post. As Iran is one of the leading supporters of Hamas, this action garnered suspicion, suggesting that the country used the money to fund the attacks.
However, Secretary of State Antony Blinken contends “not a single dollar has been spent from that account,” and the U.S. Treasury is closely monitoring these funds.
Documents recently obtained by the Protect the Public’s Trust revealed that the State Department was concerned about Hamas’ terrorist efforts.
In March 2021, an internal memo from the United States Department of State explained, “Due to its overall strength and level of control over Gaza, we assess there is a high risk Hamas could potentially derive indirect, unintentional benefit from U.S. assistance to Gaza.”
“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 outlined above,” the document continued.
Additionally, the documents show that the Biden administration believed it needed additional approval to allocate the funds in Gaza and the West Bank due to the likelihood that the funds would be used to further terrorism and violate American law.
The financial disbursements and other operations “would otherwise be prohibited by the Global Terrorist Sanctions Regulations and the Foreign Terrorist Organization Sanctions Regulations,” the released documents noted.
But the special “authorization would enable activities, including assistance activities, that are critical to support the Administration’s efforts to advance prosperity, security, and freedom,” the State Department claimed.
A Hamas spokesman has confirmed that planning for the recent terrorist attacks began several years ago, seemingly around the time of the injection of American taxpayer funds by the Biden administration.
On the other hand, Cruz led an effort in 2021 to ensure the funds would not go to Hamas or other terror organizations.
Cruz and a coalition of other senators expressed “concern regarding plans by the Biden-Harris administration to pour hundreds of millions of American taxpayer dollars into territories controlled by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas.”
“We call on you to halt these expenditures until the State Department accounts for statutory restrictions and remedies known deficiencies in the distribution of such assistance, which have for years promoted and facilitated terrorism against Americans and Israelis,” the letter continued.
Allred has since denounced the recent attacks in a statement received by The Dallas Express but did not address his prior efforts to send U.S. taxpayer money to Palestine.
“I write to you with a heavy heart following Hamas’s unprovoked and unprecedented terrorist attack on innocent Israeli civilians,” he explained. “I condemn these attacks in the strongest terms possible and believe that they are an act of terrorism that must be condemned by the broader global community.”
Cruz, however, has been a vocal and longstanding supporter of Israel’s right to defend itself and a critic of the Biden administration’s foreign aid to state sponsors of Hamas.
“Genocidal Hamas terrorists have launched a war against Israel. The Israeli government has the obligation to defend itself and its citizens,” he posted.
Furthermore, Cruz has pointed out, “Maybe Biden shouldn’t have sent billions to the monsters responsible?”
National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Philip Letsou explained to The Dallas Express, “Last time Israel faced unprovoked terrorist attacks, Colin Allred lined up behind far-left, anti-Israel radicals in his party like Rashida Talib and Ilhan Omar to send millions to Hamas just one month later.”
“That might explain why he was silent when Joe Biden sent $6 billion to the Iranian regime as they helped Hamas plan these latest atrocities,” Letsou concluded.
Allred, who is challenging Cruz for his Senate seat in 2024, did not respond to a request for comment.