Jan. 24, 2018
Last week, the US announced its intention to delay a $65 million payment to UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. UNRWA is a UN agency specifically dedicated to providing Palestinians with aid. The Trump Administration will be withholding $65 million out of the US’s total annual contribution of over $360 million.
The responses to the US decision have been predictable. The Washington Postimmediately sought out the Gazan on the street, who warned that
Any reduction of aid would be a death sentence for refugees in Gaza. The work is almost nonexistent. There are not enough jobs. Those who work for the Palestinian Authority receive only a stipend, and Hamas employees get a quarter of their salary.
And J Street called the mere threat of a funding freeze “incredibly dangerous, counterproductive and vindictive.”