The administration of US President Donald Trump has declared that states and cities boycotting Israeli firms will be denied federal funding for natural disaster preparedness, marking a new level of support for its ally, even as Israel faces global condemnation over its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said in grant notices posted on Friday that states must follow its "terms and conditions" to qualify for funding, including  certifying they will not cut “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies.”

According to the notices, the condition applies to at least $1.9 billion that states rely on to cover expenses related to search-and-rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries and backup power systems.

In April, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees FEMA, said that boycotting Israel is prohibited for states and cities receiving its grant funds.

The development comes as the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which promotes economic pressure on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories, has been gaining popularity after the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in 2023.

“DHS will enforce all anti discrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS movement, which is expressly grounded in antisemitism,” a spokesperson for Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem claimed.

However, the requirement is considered largely symbolic, as at least 34 US states already have anti-BDS laws or policies, according to a University of Pennsylvania law journal.

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One of the grant notices posted on Friday also stated that major cities will be required to agree to the Israel policy to receive a cut of $553.5 million allocated for counter terrorism purpose in dense areas.

Israel launched a US-backed genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the regime's decades-long campaign of death and devastation against Palestinians.

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed more than 60,939 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

Source:Websites