Fallout fears after US freezes funding
RAMALLAH: The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees warned yesterday it faced its worst funding crisis ever after the White House froze tens of millions of dollars in contributions, a move Palestinian leaders decried as cruel and blatantly biased.
The agency provides Palestinian refugees and their descendants across the Middle East with services, including schools and medical care, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long accused it of hostility towards Israel and called for its closure.
Five million Palestinians are eligible for its services.
On Tuesday, the United States held back US$65 million (RM257 million) that had been destined for the agency, two weeks after President Donald Trump threatened future payments.
The US is the largest contributor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA).
“The US has announced it will contribute US$60 million to the programme budget.
“There is no other indication of possible funding,” UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said.
“This dramatically reduced contribution results in the most severe funding crisis in the history of the agency.”
Senior Palestinian officials reacted with outrage to what they see as another move against them by Trump’s White House following his declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said the freeze amounted to “cruelty” towards an “innocent and vulnerable population”.
The Palestinian envoy to Washington, Husam Zomlot, said: “Palestinian refugees and children’s access to basic humanitarian services, such as food, healthcare and education, is not a bargaining chip, but a US and international obligation.”
Around 500 people protested in the Gaza Strip yesterday against the freeze.
US State Department officials insisted the decision to freeze the funding was taken not to pressure Palestinian leaders, but to encourage other countries to help pay for and reform UNRWA.
The State Department said US$60 million of what had been a planned US$125 million package would go through to keep the agency running, but the rest would be withheld.
The State Department’s position raised scepticism in the light of tweets sent by Trump on Jan 2, at the time when the US$125 million contribution had been due to be paid.
“We pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect,” Trump said.
“They don’t even want to negotiate a long overdue peace treaty with Israel,” he protested, adding: “Why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?”
Following Trump’s outburst, it was reported that his ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, had been pushing for a complete end to US support for UNRWA.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “very concerned” by reports of the freeze.
“UNRWA is not a Palestinian institution, but a UN institution.” AFP