US withholds $65 million from aid programmes

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration on Tuesday cut tens of millions of dollars in money for Palestinian refugees, demanding that the UN agency responsible for the programmes undertake a “fundamental reexamination,” the State Department said.

In a letter, the State Department notified the UN Relief and Works Agency that the US is withholding $65 million of a planned $125 million funding installment. The letter also makes clear that additional US donations will be contingent on major changes by UNRWA, which has been heavily criticised by Israel.

“We would like to see some reforms be made,” said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, adding that changes are needed to the way the agency operates and is funded. “This is not aimed at punishing anyone.”

The State Department said it was releasing the rest of the installment — $60 million — to prevent the agency from running out of cash by the end of the month and closing down.

The US is UNWRA’s largest donor, supplying nearly 30% of its budget. The agency focuses on providing healthcare, education and social services to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

“Given the long, trusted, and historic relationship between the United States and UNRWA, this reduced contribution threatens one of the most successful and innovative human development endeavors in the Middle-East,” UNRWA chief Pierre Krähenbühl said in a statement.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians either fled or were forced from their homes during the war that led to Israel’s establishment in 1948. Today, there are an estimated five million refugees and their descendants, mostly scattered across the region.

The Palestinian Liberation Organisation reacted angrily to the move, saying it is targeting “the most vulnerable segment of the Palestinian people and depriving the refugees of the right to education, health, shelter and a dignified life.”

“It is also creating conditions that will generate further instability throughout the region and will demonstrate that it has no compunction in targeting the innocent,” the PLO leadership said in a statement.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was not aware of the decision, but warned that UNRWA provides “vital services.”

“I am very concerned and I strongly hope that in the end it will be possible for the United States to maintain the funding of UNRWA in which the U.S has a very important share,” he told reporters at the UN.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, praised the move, arguing that UNRWA misuses humanitarian aid to support propaganda against the Jewish state.

“It is time for this absurdity to end and for humanitarian funds to be directed towards their intended purpose: the welfare of refugees,” Mr Danon said in a statement.

The US donated $355 million to UNWRA in 2016 and was set to make a similar contribution in this year, with the first installment to have been sent this month. But after a highly critical Jan 2 tweet from Mr Trump on aid to the Palestinians, the State Department opted to wait for a formal policy decision before sending its first installment.