Palestinians slam US for ending refugee fund

JERUSALEM – The Palestinians on Saturday condemned the U.S. decision to end its decades of funding for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, accusing the Trump administration of trying to remove sensitive issues from the negotiating table.

The announcement raised new questions about the viability of any future U.S. peace plan.

President Donald Trump’s Mideast team, led by his adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, have been working on their plan for about a year and a half but have not said when it will be made public.

Friday’s decision cut $300 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which serves millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants across the region.