Then-President Barack Obama delivering a farewell speech to the US on January 10 in Chicago. Scott Olson/Getty Images On Monday the Associated Press reported that as one of Barack Obama's final actions in office before the inauguration of President Donald Trump, he released $221 million to the Palestinian Authority.

However, the payment itself has been frozen by the State Department under President Trump.

The money came from federal aid the US provides to the West Bank and Gaza, aid that totaled about $355 million in 2015. The sum released by Obama during his last hours in office had been held up by a group in Congress that included Reps. Ed Royce of California and Kay Granger of Texas.

"The easiest way to sum it up is that Congress had been looking at various behaviors from Palestine — unilateral attempts at statehood, corruption, incitement of violence, and paying salaries to people in jail for terrorism — and that's why the hold has been there," Dr. Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told Business Insider.

Schanzer characterized the move by Obama as both shocking and "a strange message to send."

"I was tracking President Obama's 11th-hour moves on the Palestinians, and this issue never came up once ... Most analysts and observers didn't think Obama would or could do this," Schanzer said.

The Obama administration had been pressing for the release of the funds for some time, according to the Associated Press, which reported that a notification sent to Congress said the money came from the US Agency for International Development and was set to support humanitarian aid, political and security reforms, and "rule of law."

The Palestinian Authority, which had been had been hurting for cash, used the money for "salaries unpaid and debts that are owed," Schanzer said.

Schanzer, however, said the Palestinian Authority had done nothing to warrant this reversal on Obama's part, characterizing activities such as corruption and incitement of violence as "ongoing."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on November 10 at a rally marking the 12th anniversary of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's death. Reuters/Mohamad Torokman

Schanzer pointed to the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, as an example of corruption. Abbas entered his 12th year as president this year, despite being elected to only a four-year term in 2005.

Obama is "releasing funds to a guy that’s become an autocrat," Schanzer said.

Obama's unilateral action came as he closed his presidency with a critical eye toward Israel. In December, the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding that Israel stop building settlements on Palestinian land. The US refused to vote on the resolution, effectively allowing it to pass.

Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of moving the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, which Abbas has urged against.