‘Israeli’ Channel 10: US to Freeze $125 Million Aid for UNRWA
Local Editor
The United States froze $125 million in aid to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, ‘Israeli' Channel 10 reported Friday.
According to the report, the funding was meant to be transferred by January 1, but was being held up because the White House is furious over the Palestinians' reaction to US President Donald Trump's recognition of al-Quds as the so-called ‘capital' of the Zionist entity last month.
In this regard, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has broken off all contact with the Trump administration.
In addition, the TV report said, US officials informed the United Nations that the Trump administration is weighing slashing a total of $180 million in aid to the refugee agency, according to the television report.
This sum, which would include the $125 million said to currently be frozen, would constitute about half the US's annual aid to UNRWA. The US is the refugee agency's single largest donor.
Quoting Western diplomats, the report said such a cut would be "a catastrophe" for the organization and would impact Palestinian refugees in camps in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Lebanon.
On Wednesday, top PLO official Saeb Erekat said a threatened US cut to UNRWA's budget would "starve Palestinian children in refugee camps and deny their natural rights to health and education."
Administration sources told Channel 10 that while a final decision has not been made, the aid cuts are "absolutely being considered" in light of the Palestinians' behavior.
US officials met Friday at the White House to discuss the matter, the TV report added.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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