US Withholds $65M Aid to UN Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees
“It's not being canceled. It's just being held for future consideration,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at a press briefing.
The US will still transfer $60 million of what was originally a $125 million tranche of funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) while withholding the remaining $65 million, Nauert said, adding that without the $60 million tranche, the refugee agency was at risk of shuttering.
She said additional US funding will depend on "some revisions" being made at the agency, which provides healthcare and social services to Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
US President Donald Trump previously threatened to cut aid to the Palestinians, including to UNRWA, in response to Palestinian fury over his decision last month to recognize Quds (Jerusalem) as Israel’s capital.
Claiming the decision was not politically motivated or related to Trump's Quds declaration, Nauert added that it was rooted in concern over how UNRWA is managed and spends the funds.
She also said the US expected other countries to “step up to the plate” and provide more funding for the agency.
UNRWA has been helping over 5 million Palestinian refugees displaced by the Israeli occupation since 1948.
Source: Yeni Safak
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