The Trump administration has reversed course after facing backlash for threatening to withhold at least $1.9 billion in disaster preparedness funding from states and local governments that support boycotts of Israel or Israeli companies.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appeared to remove a controversial clause from its internal terms and conditions, which had required grant recipients to avoid supporting efforts to sever commercial ties with Israeli firms or those doing business in or with Israel.

The earlier language, first added in April, stated that applicants “must not support severing commercial relations, or otherwise limiting commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies or with companies doing business in or with Israel.”

The clause was quietly removed after news outlets highlighted that 11 new federal grant notices published on Friday referenced the older conditions, prompting public outrage and accusations of political coercion.

Read the full story by TRT Global here.