A landmark legal settlement has forced the Biden administrations State Department into a decade-long, court-enforceable commitment to stop funneling taxpayer dollars in ways that could subsidize the Palestinian Authoritys notorious Pay to Slay terror rewards program.
The agreement resolves a lawsuit brought by America First Legal (AFL) and several American victims of Palestinian terrorism, who alleged that the administration unlawfully revived aid streams that effectively benefited the Palestinian Authority (PA) despite clear statutory prohibitions. As reported by The Post Millennial, the settlement in Jackson et al. v. Trump et al., signed on May 19, requires the State Department to adhere strictly to the Taylor Force Act for the next ten years and to apply newly defined safeguards before approving Economic Support Fund assistance for the West Bank and Gaza.
Congress enacted the Taylor Force Act in response to the 2016 murder of US Army veteran and West Point graduate Taylor Force, who was stabbed to death in Israel by Palestinian terrorist Bashar Masalha. The Palestinian Authority later hailed Masalha as a heroic martyr and paid his family through its terror stipend system, according to court documents, underscoring the moral outrage that drove bipartisan support for the law.
Signed by President Donald Trump in 2018, the Taylor Force Act bars US economic assistance that directly benefits the PA unless the Secretary of State certifies that the regime has ended its policy of paying terrorists and their families. During Trumps first term, the administration halted funding covered by the statute, reflecting a clear break from the permissive approach of prior administrations toward Palestinian aid.
According to the lawsuit, the Biden administration reversed course and restored funding streams that benefited the PA even as it continued the Pay to Slay program. America First Legal alleged that more than $1 billion in US taxpayer funds were transferred in ways that ultimately advantaged the PA after President Biden took office, despite Congresss explicit intent to cut off such support.
The PAs Pay to Slay system distributes payments to terrorists and their families for carrying out attacks against Americans and Israelis, embedding financial incentives into a culture of violence. These stipends are funded through the PAs so?called Martyr Fund, with monthly payments increasing based on the severity of the attack and the number of casualties, and Congress expressly declared in the Taylor Force Act that the PAs practice of paying salaries to imprisoned terrorists and to the families of deceased terrorists is an incentive to commit acts of terror.
Court filings in the case emphasized that lawmakers concluded even indirect US assistance to the PA could free up its own resources to sustain the terror payment scheme. That finding undercut any claim that Washington could safely route money through intermediaries or technical programs without effectively subsidizing the same regime that glorifies and rewards terrorism.
AFL filed the lawsuit in 2022 on behalf of Rep. Ronny Jackson, Stuart and Robbi Force, and Sarri Singer, a survivor of a 2003 Jerusalem bus bombing. Their challenge sought not only to vindicate the Taylor Force Act but also to impose durable constraints on an administration they argued was determined to circumvent Congresss will.
Under the settlement, State Department officials must now apply a detailed set of criteria when reviewing any aid package that could touch the West Bank or Gaza. They are required to consider whether the PA is the direct recipient of assistance, whether the aid pays PA creditors, whether the PA controls the beneficiary entity, and whether the assistance replaces services the PA would otherwise fund itself.
The agreement binds the federal government for ten years and explicitly allows future court enforcement if the State Department or a subsequent administration attempts to evade its terms. That structure effectively extends President Trumps hard?line policy toward PA funding well into the next decade, regardless of who occupies the White House.
This case has always been about one simple principle: terrorism should never be rewarded, and stopping economic support funds to the PA unless Pay to Slay has ended, said Sarri Singer. As a victim of terrorism and a survivor of a Hamas bus bombing, I have lived with the painful reality that the person who carried out the attack against me is not only honored, but that his family receives monthly payments because of that act of violence. That is not just policy; it is deeply personal, and no victim should ever have to live with it. This settlement brings a level of accountability and helps ensure that the U.S. is not contributing, even indirectly, to incentivizing terror.
This settlement continues [President Trumps] legacy, AFL President Gene Hamilton said, calling it an important victory for the rule of law, for victims of terrorism, and for the principle that America must never finance terror. Rep. Jackson said the agreement helps ensure no American family endures such a loss again, while Stuart Force called the settlement a good day but noted it was bittersweet because his wife Robbi, who spent years advocating for the law after their sons murder, had since died.
Beyond the funding restrictions, the settlement also mandates that the federal government preserve records related to support provided to the Palestinian Authority and related entities between January 20, 2021, and January 20, 2025, for seven years. For conservatives who have long warned that foreign aid can be weaponized against American interests and values, the case stands as a rare instance in which the bureaucracy has been forcedby victims, lawmakers, and the courtsto respect both the letter and the spirit of a law designed to ensure that US taxpayers never underwrite the glorification of terror.
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