The United States Congress has begun efforts to cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority following an announcement that it intends to form a national unity government with the Hamas terrorist organization.

A subcommittee on the Middle East in the House of Representatives will begin examining the process to cut off aid as both Democrats and Republicans have made repeated calls to block all US support.

The subcommittee is scheduled to meet on Thursday in the first of a series of hearings to find a way forward after US-brokered peace talks collapsed last week. US lawmakers and officials have previously warned the PA that should it partner with Hamas, it would risk giving up millions of dollars in US sponsored aid.

Aides on the Hill have said that until Hamas and Fatah, the ruling party of the PA, actually form the government, the US is still continuing to financially support the PA.

The US, as well as Israel, are hoping that efforts to form the government will fail as have previous similar Palestinian efforts. The US, which has for several years designated Hamas as a terrorist organization, will not support any government that aligns itself with terrorists.

Hamas has repeatedly refused to recognize Israel and have yet to denounce the use of violence to achieve its goals. Appropriations laws state that any Palestinian power-sharing government must respect and abide by existing agreements between Israel and the PLO. Hamas has stated numerous times that it would not uphold previous agreements.

In a hearing for the 2015 budget priorities for the Middle East and North Africa, Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL) stated, “Let me be clear: No Palestinian government that includes terrorist members of Hamas can or will receive US funding.”

Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Jerusalem Post, “Somehow the Palestinian Authority seems to have this attitude that we are somehow obligated to keep them afloat. Surely he [Abbas] can’t think that we can just disregard something that’s so basic and fundamental to our policy.”

Engel believes that the rival Palestinian factions will fail in forming a government. “I think the two groups hate each other so much, I don’t see how this can happen,” he added.