Greg Steube: U.S. Needs to Cut Funds to Jordan Until Hamas Terrorist Handed Over
This week, U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., showcased his bill “to limit U.S. assistance to Jordan until the government of Jordan recognizes the validity of the 1995 extradition treaty between the two countries.”
Steube introduced the “Recognition of the 1995 Jordan Extradition Treaty with the U.S. Act” earlier this month and weighed in on it on Monday.
“Our U.S. tax dollars will not continue to flow to a country harboring a Hamas Terrorist with American blood on her hands,” said Steube. “The government of Jordan is failing to comply with a 1995 treaty which requires them to extradite individuals like Ahlam al Tamimi who faces trial for terrorism under U.S. law. My legislation will ensure our foreign assistance to Jordan is abruptly halted until Jordan is in compliance with our extradition treaty.”
“The U.S. and Jordan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on U.S. foreign assistance to Jordan which committed the U.S. to providing $1.2 billion per year in bilateral foreign assistance over a five-year period for a total of $6.3 billion between 2018 and 2022. This MOU represents a 27 percent increase in the U.S. commitment to Jordan above the previous agreements,” Steube’s office noted. “Ahlam al Tamimi lives freely in Jordan despite orchestrating a horrific 2001 terrorist attack in Israel which killed 15 innocent people, including two American citizens, and injured 122 others. Ahlam al Tamimi is on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s Most Wanted Terrorist List.”
Steube also wrote the U.S. Department of State on the matter.
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. So far, there is no companion proposal over in the U.S. Senate and no co-sponsors in the House.
