The Biden administration last month awarded $100,000 in taxpayer funds to a Gaza university that over the weekend praised the Hamas terrorists who invaded Israel as "righteous martyrs."
The State Department on Sept. 29 awarded the grant to Al-Quds Open University to promote "community service" and "action planning" among youth in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, according to records obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. Al-Quds on Saturday announced a temporary closure to mark a "day of commitment to the comprehensive strike" against Israel.
"Glory and eternity to our righteous martyrs," the school said on social media in the wake of a Hamas attack that has killed more than 900 Israelis and at least nine Americans over the weekend. The terrorist group has announced it will execute hostages taken in the invasion if Israel retaliates.
The administration’s ties to Al-Quds Open University and other organizations in the region are certain to face Republican scrutiny in the wake of the Hamas onslaught, the worst domestic attack in Israel’s history. Republican lawmakers have criticized the Biden administration for lifting a hold on $6 billion in funds for Iran, a major funder of Hamas.
The State Department last month launched a joint doctoral program for computer science students from Al-Quds Open University and Georgia State University. The State Department’s Office of Palestinian Affairs, which oversees the program, touted it as "central to the long-term prosperity of Palestinian society." That office sparked outrage after this weekend’s attack for calling on "all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks." The office deleted the tweet after outcry from Republican and Israel’s defenders.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday faced similar backlash after he deleted a tweet calling for a ceasefire in Israel.
The Biden administration has funneled taxpayer money to other organizations that support anti-Israel and pro-Hamas organizations operating in the West Bank and Gaza. The State Department gave $41,000 earlier this year to Fares Al-Arab, a Gaza-based charity, to train journalists in the region, the Free Beacon reported. The organization worked with Hamas as recently as 2021. The State Department awarded $78,000 to Community Development and Continuing Education Institute, a Gaza-based charity that has praised Hamas’s missile attacks on Israel in the past.
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.