US ends funds for Palestinian refugee agency

The United States is ending its decades of funding for the UN agency that helps Palestinian refugees, the state department has announced, a week after slashing bilateral US aid for projects in the West Bank and Gaza.

The US supplies nearly 30% of the total budget of the UN Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, and had been demanding reforms in the way it is run. The department said in a written statement on Friday that the US “will no longer commit further funding to this irredeemably flawed operation.” The decision cuts nearly $300 million of planned support.

UNRWA released a statement rejecting “in the strongest possible terms” the Trump administration’s criticism of the agency and expressing “deep regret and disappointment.”

The US decision comes as President Donald Trump and his Middle East pointmen, Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, prepare for the rollout of a muchvaunted but as yet unclear peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians, and it could intensify Palestinian suspicions that Washington is using the humanitarian funding as leverage.

The Palestinian leadership has been openly hostile to any proposal from the administration, citing what it says is a pro-Israel bias, notably after Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December and moved the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv in May. The Palestinian Authority broke off contact with the U.S. after the Jerusalem announcement.

In 2016, the U.S. donated $355 million to the UNRWA, which provides health care, education and social services to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, and it was set to make a similar contribution this year. In January the Trump administration released $60 million in funds but withheld a further $65 million it had been due to provide. The remaining amount — around $290 million — had yet to be allocated.

“When we made a U.S. contribution of $60 million in January, we made it clear that the United States was no longer willing to shoulder the very disproportionate share of the burden of UNRWA’s costs that we had assumed for many years,” the statement said. “Several countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Sweden, Qatar, and the UAE (United Arab Emirates) have shown leadership in addressing this problem, but the overall international response has not been sufficient.”

The statement criticized the “fundamental business model and fiscal practices” of UNRWA, and what the department characterized as the “endlessly and exponentially expanding community of entitled beneficiaries.”

UNRWA responded by stating that its “programs have a proven track record in creating one of the most successful human development processes ... in the Middle East.” UNRWA added that it has been recognized by the World Bank “for running one of the most effective school systems in the region,” according to a statement released by the agency.

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