Trump administration backs bill to halt aid to Palestinians

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration is backing legislation that would suspend U.S. financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority until it ends what critics say is a long-standing practice of rewarding Palestinians who kill Americans and Israelis.

In comments Thursday, the State Department says the administration "strongly supports" the bill. The State Department says President Donald Trump raised the issue with President Mahmoud Abbas during meetings in May.

The measure is named after Taylor Force, an MBA student at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and a West Point graduate. He was visiting Israel in March 2016 when he was stabbed to death by a Palestinian. Force was from Lubbock, Texas.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the bill in early August.