Palestinians brace for aid cuts US threatens to curtail funding to UN agency for refugees
SHATI REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip — Mahmoud al-Qouqa can’t imagine life without the three sacks of flour, cooking oil and other staples he receives from the United Nations every three months.
Living with 25 relatives in a crowded home in this Gaza Strip slum, the meager rations provided by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugee families, are the last thing keeping his family afloat in the terrifood. tory hard hit by years of poverty and conflict. But that could be in danger as the United States, UNRWA’s biggest donor, threatens to curtail funding.
“It will be like a disaster and no one can predict what the reaction will be,” Qouqa said.
Across the Middle East, millions of people who depend on UNRWA are bracing for the worst. The expected cut could also add instability to struggling host countries already coping with spillover from other regional crises.
UNRWA was established in the wake of the 1948 Middle East war surrounding Israel’s creation. About 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in the fighting.
In the absence of a solution for these refugees, the UN General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA’s mandate, the original refugee camps have turned into con- crete slums and more than 5 million refugees and their descendants now rely on the agency for services including education, healthcare and The largest populations are in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon.
Blaming the Palestinians for lack of progress in Middle East peace efforts, US President Donald Trump has threatened to cut assistance to the Palestinians. UNRWA would be the first to be affected.
The US provides about $355 million a year to UNRWA, roughly one-third of its budget.
US officials have said the administration is preparing to withhold tens of millions of dollars from the year’s first contribution, cutting a planned $125 million installment by half or perhaps entirely. The decision could come as early as Tuesday.