Obama Funds Palestinians, UN, before Leaving Office

JERUSALEM, Israel – Former President Barack Obama provided the Palestinian Authority with $221 million in his waning days in office, informing Congress of the move Friday morning, hours before President Trump was sworn in.

Some Republican members of Congress had been blocking this measure.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly informed several lawmakers of the action on Thursday, before he left the State Department for the last time.

Aides said the written notification, dated January 20, was sent to Congress shortly before Trump took the oath of office.

Along with the P.A. funds, another $6 million in foreign affairs funding was transferred, including $1.25 million for U.N.-sponsored organizations and $4 million for climate change programs.

The transfers defy congressional plans to re-evaluate funding to the Palestinian Authority and to cut funding to the United Nations for its recent resolution condemning Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria (a/k/a the West Bank) and referring to Israel's biblical heartland, Jerusalem's Old City and other Jewish holy sites as "occupied Palestinian territories."