Sander Gerber, Yesh Atid MK Elazar Stern, Stuart Force, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, and Likud MK Avi Dichter. Photo: Courtesy.

The recent passage of laws in both the US and Israel penalizing the Palestinian Authority (PA) over its payments to terrorists and their families marked “a good beginning, but there is much more to be done,” the father of an American military veteran who was killed in a stabbing attack in Tel Aviv two years ago told The Algemeiner on Monday.

Stuart Force, the father of the late Taylor Force, traveled to Israel to attend last week’s Knesset vote on a bill modeled on a US law — named after his West Point graduate son — that was approved by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in March limiting American aid to the PA.

“Watching the legislation’s passage in the Knesset was a very emotional and special time for me,” Force said. “I feel that the resolve shown by both countries to address this part of the war on terror will provide a stimulus for nations worldwide to look at where their humanitarian aid actually goes.”

“If it cannot be shown that the intended recipients of our assistance are receiving it, then it should be withheld until it can,” he continued. “Something is terribly wrong when the leaders of terrorism are living like wealthy warlords, with their ‘subjects’ having no hope for a better future.”

Last Thursday, Yesh Atid MK Elazar Stern — a co-sponsor of the Knesset bill — told The Algemeiner that Palestinians “will gradually understand that terrorism doesn’t pay off.”

“I certainly believe that the law will weaken the PA mechanism that encourages terrorism and incentivizes it economically,” Stern said.

“I also believe and very much hope that it will be a step forward towards reconciliation and peace,” he added.