Original article published at TheNationalDesk.com

WASHINGTON (TND) — U.S.- Palestinian aid over the last seven decades has cost taxpayers around $8 billion and at times has come as fighting with Israel has intensified.

President Joe Biden’s administration restarted Palestinian aid in 2021, reversing a Trump-era decision to freeze the aid as part of its pro-Israel policy push in the Middle East.

OpenTheBooks CEO Adam Andrzejewski joined The National Desk to break it down.

“Trump put the money on the table he said if the elements in Gaza in the West Bank — that's Hamas, the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the Palestinian Authority — if they're not interested in peace, I'm going to put the money on the table. I'm going to freeze it,” Andrzejewski said.

Biden reversed that decision in 2021, sending $10 million in May to support cross-border projects between Israel and the West Bank and Gaza. That decision came as fighting was intensifying between Hamas and Israel. Overall, the administration has supplied about $1.3 billion in aid since reversing the Trump cutoff.

With fighting again intensifying after the terrorist attack led to a formal declaration of war, there are some calls to once again suspend aid to Palestine.

“It's interesting the PLO believes that they have a right under international law to U.S. taxpayer support,” Andrzejewski said. “At this point, every dime has to be on the table for inspection and audit.”