Al Jazeera: U.S. congressional committee moves to restore aid to Palestinians
“A subcommittee in the United States House of Representatives approved a measure on Thursday that, as part of a broader foreign aid spending bill, would reverse a Trump administration decision suspending aid to Palestinians and restore millions in aid to non-governmental organizations working in the West Bank and Gaza. The move by a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee — inserted into a $66bn State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs funding bill — would restore $255m in aid to the territories during the 2021 fiscal year, which begins on October 1 this year. The aid was cut off in 2018 by the Trump administration after Palestinian officials dismissed a peace plan proposed by the president…” (7/9).

The Hill: House panel approves bill funding WHO, paring back abortion restrictions
“The House Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a foreign policy bill that would ensure funds flow to the World Health Organization (WHO) and pare back the Trump administration’s abortion-related restrictions on foreign organizations. … It rejected a GOP amendment to withdraw funding from the WHO without approval from the secretary of State. … The bill would also scale back an abortion-related policy known as the ‘Mexico City policy,’ which blocks U.S. funds from going to [foreign] organizations that provide information on abortions…” (Elis, 7/9).