1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-253) and U.S. Aid for the Palestinians Jim Zanotti Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs Updated February 5, 2019 The Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act (ATCA, P.L. 115-253)
2、became law on October 3, 2018. Congress passed the law in the wake of a U.S. federal court case dealing with past acts of terrorism by Palestinians (discussed below, “U.S. Policy Implications and Options”). The law amended the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) (at 18 U.S.C. 2334) by stating that a defendant
3、consents to personal jurisdiction in U.S. federal court for lawsuits related to international terrorism if the defendant accepts certain types of U.S. foreign aid after the law has been in effect for 120 days. In December, Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah wrote to Secretary o
4、f State Mike Pompeo that the PA would not accept aid that subjected it to federal court jurisdiction. Consequently, U.S. bilateral aid to the Palestinians ended on January 31, 2019. Apparently, it will not resume unless Congress amends or repeals the ATCA, or the Administration channels the aid diff