12 jan 2018
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) on Thursday warned that the US administration's threat to cut its funding to UNRWA would have disastrous consequences if carried out.
NRC said that cutting fund would punish hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, who depend on the Agency for their education. It would also deny their parents the only social safety net that helps them to survive under occupation or in the case of displacement.
NRC secretary general, Jan Egeland, said in a press statement that threatening to cut aid for political purposes to millions of civilians who need it is what is expected from undemocratic regimes not from the world's biggest humanitarian donor.
Egeland added that cutting funds to UNRWA will push millions of Palestinians further into poverty and despair, stressing that other humanitarian organizations simply do not have the capacity to meet their needs if this decision is implemented, and it would all fall on Israel, as an occupying power, as well as the governments of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria to do so.
NRC works closely with UNRWA in Gaza providing psychosocial support to traumatized children in its schools in addition to legal assistance to the refugees whose homes destroyed in the 2014 war are being reconstructed.
In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, NRC works with UNRWA to protect the Palestinian communities at the risk of forced displacement. Cutting UNRWA funding would undo years of work with a generation living under constant siege and recurring conflict.
Egeland noted that UNRWA budget cuts would exacerbate the situation for Palestinian refugees in Syria since 95% of them are in dire need for humanitarian assistance. It would also have devastating consequences in Jordan and Lebanon where UNRWA is the most important provider of assistance and services to Palestinian refugees, many of whom already live in abject poverty.
He explained that the US is UNRWA's largest donor, contributing $364 million of funding in 2017, followed by the European Union. Together they contribute almost 40% of UNRWA's total funding for its core budget.
"Cutting much-needed aid to refugees because Palestinian leaders have positions the US disagrees with is outrageous," Egeland said. "We call on the US administration not to follow through with this threat which would tarnish its reputation and undermine its role as a humanitarian donor."
NRC said that cutting fund would punish hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, who depend on the Agency for their education. It would also deny their parents the only social safety net that helps them to survive under occupation or in the case of displacement.
NRC secretary general, Jan Egeland, said in a press statement that threatening to cut aid for political purposes to millions of civilians who need it is what is expected from undemocratic regimes not from the world's biggest humanitarian donor.
Egeland added that cutting funds to UNRWA will push millions of Palestinians further into poverty and despair, stressing that other humanitarian organizations simply do not have the capacity to meet their needs if this decision is implemented, and it would all fall on Israel, as an occupying power, as well as the governments of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria to do so.
NRC works closely with UNRWA in Gaza providing psychosocial support to traumatized children in its schools in addition to legal assistance to the refugees whose homes destroyed in the 2014 war are being reconstructed.
In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, NRC works with UNRWA to protect the Palestinian communities at the risk of forced displacement. Cutting UNRWA funding would undo years of work with a generation living under constant siege and recurring conflict.
Egeland noted that UNRWA budget cuts would exacerbate the situation for Palestinian refugees in Syria since 95% of them are in dire need for humanitarian assistance. It would also have devastating consequences in Jordan and Lebanon where UNRWA is the most important provider of assistance and services to Palestinian refugees, many of whom already live in abject poverty.
He explained that the US is UNRWA's largest donor, contributing $364 million of funding in 2017, followed by the European Union. Together they contribute almost 40% of UNRWA's total funding for its core budget.
"Cutting much-needed aid to refugees because Palestinian leaders have positions the US disagrees with is outrageous," Egeland said. "We call on the US administration not to follow through with this threat which would tarnish its reputation and undermine its role as a humanitarian donor."
9 jan 2018
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said, on Monday, that its mandate comes only from the United Nations General Assembly, which created it in 1950 following the Palestinians’ dispersion from their homeland, with Israel’s creation by a UN resolution in 1947.
UNRWA’s response came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for cutting aid to UNRWA until it ceases to exist.
“UNRWA is an organization that perpetuates the problem of the Palestinian refugees. It also perpetuates the narrative of the so-called ‘right of return’ with the aim of eliminating the State of Israel, and therefore UNRWA must disappear,” Netanyahu said on Sunday.
UNRWA spokesman Sami Mushasha said, in a statement, according to WAFA, that “what perpetuates the problem of Palestinian refugees is failure of the parties to deal with this issue, which should be resolved by the parties to conflict through peace negotiations based on UN resolutions and international law as well as active involvement from the international community.”
The UN called, in its General Assembly resolution 194, passed on December 11,1948, for the return or compensation of more than 700,000 Palestinians who were forced out of their homes and land by armed Israeli paramilitary groups.
Mushasha said that UNRWA, which began operations on 1 May, 1950, funded by contributions from UN member states, and whose services encompass education, health care, social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance, “has a mandate to continue with its mission until there is a just and lasting solution to the Palestine refugees issue.”
Netanyahu’s statement came after US President Donald Trump and his UN ambassador, Nikky Haley, had also threatened to cut financial aid to the Palestinians, including to UNRWA, if the Palestinians do not return to the negotiation table with Israel. The US is the largest single donor to UNRWA, with over $350 million in annual official aid.
However, a senior US administration official denied, on Sunday, that a decision has been made on cutting aid to UNRWA.
“There is no existing schedule that obligates the United States to provide specific amounts of aid to UNWRA on specific dates,” said the official in a statement from Washington. “The decisions of when to provide aid in the fiscal year, and in what allocations, lie with the Secretary of State. At this time no such decisions have been made.”
UNRWA, which is suffering from shortage in budget, is appealing for $400 million in aid to meet humanitarian demands by Palestinian refugees, whose number has reached over 5 million since 1948, particularly in conflict areas such as Gaza and Syria.
UNRWA’s response came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for cutting aid to UNRWA until it ceases to exist.
“UNRWA is an organization that perpetuates the problem of the Palestinian refugees. It also perpetuates the narrative of the so-called ‘right of return’ with the aim of eliminating the State of Israel, and therefore UNRWA must disappear,” Netanyahu said on Sunday.
UNRWA spokesman Sami Mushasha said, in a statement, according to WAFA, that “what perpetuates the problem of Palestinian refugees is failure of the parties to deal with this issue, which should be resolved by the parties to conflict through peace negotiations based on UN resolutions and international law as well as active involvement from the international community.”
The UN called, in its General Assembly resolution 194, passed on December 11,1948, for the return or compensation of more than 700,000 Palestinians who were forced out of their homes and land by armed Israeli paramilitary groups.
Mushasha said that UNRWA, which began operations on 1 May, 1950, funded by contributions from UN member states, and whose services encompass education, health care, social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance, “has a mandate to continue with its mission until there is a just and lasting solution to the Palestine refugees issue.”
Netanyahu’s statement came after US President Donald Trump and his UN ambassador, Nikky Haley, had also threatened to cut financial aid to the Palestinians, including to UNRWA, if the Palestinians do not return to the negotiation table with Israel. The US is the largest single donor to UNRWA, with over $350 million in annual official aid.
However, a senior US administration official denied, on Sunday, that a decision has been made on cutting aid to UNRWA.
“There is no existing schedule that obligates the United States to provide specific amounts of aid to UNWRA on specific dates,” said the official in a statement from Washington. “The decisions of when to provide aid in the fiscal year, and in what allocations, lie with the Secretary of State. At this time no such decisions have been made.”
UNRWA, which is suffering from shortage in budget, is appealing for $400 million in aid to meet humanitarian demands by Palestinian refugees, whose number has reached over 5 million since 1948, particularly in conflict areas such as Gaza and Syria.
7 jan 2018
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supports a gradual cutback of American funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
According to a Saturday report by Haaretz daily, Netanyahu’s bureau over the weekend said that the prime minister “supports a critical approach by President Trump and believes that practical steps must be taken to change the situation in which UNRWA perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem instead of resolving it.”
According to the anonymous official, Israel prefers a gradual cutback of U.S. funding.
The Israeli official’s statement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump and his envoy to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said that the United States would cut aid to the Palestinians if they did not return to the negotiating table.
The United States gives over $300 million a year to UNRWA, which constitutes one third of the agency’s budget. According to diplomats familiar with discussions on the matter, it is now mainly Haley who supports Netanyahu's suggestion, in keeping with the policy of penalties she declared after the vote in the UN General Assembly against Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, UNRWA was established by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949 to carry out direct relief and works programs for Palestine refugees. The Agency began operations on 1 May 1950. The Agency’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure, and emergency assistance.
According to a Saturday report by Haaretz daily, Netanyahu’s bureau over the weekend said that the prime minister “supports a critical approach by President Trump and believes that practical steps must be taken to change the situation in which UNRWA perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem instead of resolving it.”
According to the anonymous official, Israel prefers a gradual cutback of U.S. funding.
The Israeli official’s statement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump and his envoy to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said that the United States would cut aid to the Palestinians if they did not return to the negotiating table.
The United States gives over $300 million a year to UNRWA, which constitutes one third of the agency’s budget. According to diplomats familiar with discussions on the matter, it is now mainly Haley who supports Netanyahu's suggestion, in keeping with the policy of penalties she declared after the vote in the UN General Assembly against Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, UNRWA was established by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949 to carry out direct relief and works programs for Palestine refugees. The Agency began operations on 1 May 1950. The Agency’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure, and emergency assistance.
6 jan 2018
The United States has frozen $125 million of its funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).
Quoting three US officials, Reuters news agency reported that the administration of the US president, Donald Trump, informed the United Nations that it had frozen a $125 million grant that was due to be paid on 1st January.
According to the three officials who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, Trump's administration is considering cutting $180 million from its aid payments to the UNRWA in an effort to pressure the Palestinian Authority to resume negotiations with Israel.
For its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the fierce US-Israeli campaign waged against the UNRWA and slammed the recent statement by Israel's minister of public security, Gilad Erdan, in which he called for dismantling the Agency.
The Palestinian Ministry said in a statement on Friday evening that the right-wing party in Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is taking advantage of the US biased support of Israel, which involved recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, to launch more expansionist settlement projects in the Palestinian territories.
The Ministry continued that this US-Israeli alliance aims to settle the core issues of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, including Jerusalem, refugees and borders, unilaterally in a dramatic transition to a stage of imposing non-negotiable solutions on the Palestinian side.
It called on the international community and the UN organizations to carry out their duty to maintain international peace and stability and to put an end to the US-Israeli arrogance targeting the peace process.
Quoting three US officials, Reuters news agency reported that the administration of the US president, Donald Trump, informed the United Nations that it had frozen a $125 million grant that was due to be paid on 1st January.
According to the three officials who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, Trump's administration is considering cutting $180 million from its aid payments to the UNRWA in an effort to pressure the Palestinian Authority to resume negotiations with Israel.
For its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the fierce US-Israeli campaign waged against the UNRWA and slammed the recent statement by Israel's minister of public security, Gilad Erdan, in which he called for dismantling the Agency.
The Palestinian Ministry said in a statement on Friday evening that the right-wing party in Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is taking advantage of the US biased support of Israel, which involved recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, to launch more expansionist settlement projects in the Palestinian territories.
The Ministry continued that this US-Israeli alliance aims to settle the core issues of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, including Jerusalem, refugees and borders, unilaterally in a dramatic transition to a stage of imposing non-negotiable solutions on the Palestinian side.
It called on the international community and the UN organizations to carry out their duty to maintain international peace and stability and to put an end to the US-Israeli arrogance targeting the peace process.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Friday, condemned what it described as “the vicious Israeli and US campaign” targeting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
The ministry criticized, in a press release, the campaign targeting UNRWA as seen in US statements threatening to cut financial aid to the organization, which serves refugees, and Israel’s exploitation of this position.
The Israeli Minister of Public Security, Gilad Ardan, had called for dismantling UNRWA, and questioned its credibility and role, while Education Minister Neftali Bennett was reported in the media as calling UNRWA a “terror-supporting organization”.
The ministry said, according to WAFA, that the Israeli right-wing, headed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is taking advantage of the US’ latest positions in favor of Tel Aviv, the last of which is the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in order to expand settlements and carry out more projects at the expense of the Palestinian state.
It said that Israel has been escalating its settlement expansion since the US announcement, especially in East Jerusalem and its surroundings, as well as the Jordan Valley.
“The current US – Israeli harmony aims to conclude final status issues including Jerusalem, land, borders and refugees from one side using the power of the occupation. Israel wants to force solutions on Palestinians and Arabs by portraying settlement expansion as a reality and nonnegotiable issue.”
It added that the US – Israeli coup against the peace process has reached advanced levels, which puts the international community and the United Nations and its bodies in a real test of their credibility and ability to solve crises and end the occupation, as well as fulfill their duties in maintaining world peace and security.
The ministry demanded the world and its organizations to take a clear and strong stance that is capable of ending the Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine and salvage what remains of the world’s credibility concerning the situation in Palestine.
A recent quote from UNRWA Spokesman Christopher Gunness stated: “We are seeing the reports on this matter but have not been informed directly of a formal decision either way by the US administration.”
The ministry criticized, in a press release, the campaign targeting UNRWA as seen in US statements threatening to cut financial aid to the organization, which serves refugees, and Israel’s exploitation of this position.
The Israeli Minister of Public Security, Gilad Ardan, had called for dismantling UNRWA, and questioned its credibility and role, while Education Minister Neftali Bennett was reported in the media as calling UNRWA a “terror-supporting organization”.
The ministry said, according to WAFA, that the Israeli right-wing, headed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is taking advantage of the US’ latest positions in favor of Tel Aviv, the last of which is the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in order to expand settlements and carry out more projects at the expense of the Palestinian state.
It said that Israel has been escalating its settlement expansion since the US announcement, especially in East Jerusalem and its surroundings, as well as the Jordan Valley.
“The current US – Israeli harmony aims to conclude final status issues including Jerusalem, land, borders and refugees from one side using the power of the occupation. Israel wants to force solutions on Palestinians and Arabs by portraying settlement expansion as a reality and nonnegotiable issue.”
It added that the US – Israeli coup against the peace process has reached advanced levels, which puts the international community and the United Nations and its bodies in a real test of their credibility and ability to solve crises and end the occupation, as well as fulfill their duties in maintaining world peace and security.
The ministry demanded the world and its organizations to take a clear and strong stance that is capable of ending the Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine and salvage what remains of the world’s credibility concerning the situation in Palestine.
A recent quote from UNRWA Spokesman Christopher Gunness stated: “We are seeing the reports on this matter but have not been informed directly of a formal decision either way by the US administration.”
5 jan 2018
On Tuesday, Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, delivered a rather ambiguous threat in response to a question on the maintenance of the US level of funding to the UN Palestinian refugee programme. She replied: "The president has said that he doesn't want to give any additional funding or stop funding until the Palestinians are agreeing (sic) to come back to the negotiating table."
President Trump himself tweeted the following threat to UNRWA: "But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?"
Funding withdrawal
Ambiguous threats and foreign policy statements are not a new phenomenon for the Trump administration, and whilst UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness maintains they have not been informed of any change in US policy, the consequences of potential funding withdrawal from the agency must also be considered in all seriousness.
UNRWA was established in 1950 in order to provide relief services for the 700,000 Palestinian refugees who had been expelled from Palestine following the establishment of Israel. It operates in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria and provides Palestinians with primary and secondary education, health services as well as various camp infrastructure projects.
Although millions of Palestinians rely on its services, UNRWA is also sometimes criticised for perpetuating the conflict and footing the bill that Israel should be paying.
The US is UNRWA's biggest donor with last year's donation totaling $368m, nearly 30 percent of its total funding. In the past, when UNRWA has had a funding shortfall they have suspended programmes or certain aspects of them.
In 2015 it came close to delaying the start of the school year for nearly half a million Palestinian children. Luckily, it managed to overcome the $100m deficit after an urgent appeal by former UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon.
However, a total US funding cut would mean a serious reduction in services and the complete halt of many of the education and health programmes.
In other words, schools and health clinics would close leaving hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees across the region without schooling, health care, jobs, making their situation even more dire.
Indeed, if it is left to function at two thirds of its capacity, the viability of the agency as a whole would be called into question.
On the other hand, if the Palestinian Authority is forced to return to US mediated negotiations in exchange for the continuation of funding, UNRWA's basic services would be left tainted with the political demands of an administration that is determined to defy international consensus.
This is particularly problematic in light of Trump's recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, defying international law.
Aid and politics
This too, however, is not new, with aid and development in Palestine long being held captive to politics. In a recent piece for MEE, Alaa Tartir explained: "Aid flows over the decades resulted in entrenchment of aid dependency…which stripped the Palestinian people of power to resist colonialism, apartheid and oppression".
The political strings attached to aid, and Palestinian dependency on it, are among the main reasons that have kept Palestinians from developing a sustainable resistance to the Israeli settler colonial regime. Indeed, UNRWA, and other international agencies, are paying the bill for Israel's military occupation and thus are huge factors in maintaining the status quo.
Should UNRWA cease its operations, the gap will have to be filled by someone else. This is an important detail which seems to have escaped President Trump.
It's not yet clear whether the Trump administration's threats are directed towards UNRWA or the PA and it is very likely that the administration itself is also unsure of the recipient of these threats.
What is clear, however, is that if the threats were directed at the former, the Palestinian refugees will once again be the ones who suffer for the political decisions of a leadership that refuses to fight for their fundamental right to return home.
If it was directed at the latter, the PA is left with very few cards to play especially with its legitimacy among the Palestinian people dwindling.
- Yara Hawari is the Palestine Policy Fellow for Al Shabaka - The Palestinian Policy Network. She completed her PhD at the University of Exeter in Middle East politics and frequently writes for various media outlets. Her article was published in the Middle East Eye.
President Trump himself tweeted the following threat to UNRWA: "But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?"
Funding withdrawal
Ambiguous threats and foreign policy statements are not a new phenomenon for the Trump administration, and whilst UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness maintains they have not been informed of any change in US policy, the consequences of potential funding withdrawal from the agency must also be considered in all seriousness.
UNRWA was established in 1950 in order to provide relief services for the 700,000 Palestinian refugees who had been expelled from Palestine following the establishment of Israel. It operates in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria and provides Palestinians with primary and secondary education, health services as well as various camp infrastructure projects.
Although millions of Palestinians rely on its services, UNRWA is also sometimes criticised for perpetuating the conflict and footing the bill that Israel should be paying.
The US is UNRWA's biggest donor with last year's donation totaling $368m, nearly 30 percent of its total funding. In the past, when UNRWA has had a funding shortfall they have suspended programmes or certain aspects of them.
In 2015 it came close to delaying the start of the school year for nearly half a million Palestinian children. Luckily, it managed to overcome the $100m deficit after an urgent appeal by former UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon.
However, a total US funding cut would mean a serious reduction in services and the complete halt of many of the education and health programmes.
In other words, schools and health clinics would close leaving hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees across the region without schooling, health care, jobs, making their situation even more dire.
Indeed, if it is left to function at two thirds of its capacity, the viability of the agency as a whole would be called into question.
On the other hand, if the Palestinian Authority is forced to return to US mediated negotiations in exchange for the continuation of funding, UNRWA's basic services would be left tainted with the political demands of an administration that is determined to defy international consensus.
This is particularly problematic in light of Trump's recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, defying international law.
Aid and politics
This too, however, is not new, with aid and development in Palestine long being held captive to politics. In a recent piece for MEE, Alaa Tartir explained: "Aid flows over the decades resulted in entrenchment of aid dependency…which stripped the Palestinian people of power to resist colonialism, apartheid and oppression".
The political strings attached to aid, and Palestinian dependency on it, are among the main reasons that have kept Palestinians from developing a sustainable resistance to the Israeli settler colonial regime. Indeed, UNRWA, and other international agencies, are paying the bill for Israel's military occupation and thus are huge factors in maintaining the status quo.
Should UNRWA cease its operations, the gap will have to be filled by someone else. This is an important detail which seems to have escaped President Trump.
It's not yet clear whether the Trump administration's threats are directed towards UNRWA or the PA and it is very likely that the administration itself is also unsure of the recipient of these threats.
What is clear, however, is that if the threats were directed at the former, the Palestinian refugees will once again be the ones who suffer for the political decisions of a leadership that refuses to fight for their fundamental right to return home.
If it was directed at the latter, the PA is left with very few cards to play especially with its legitimacy among the Palestinian people dwindling.
- Yara Hawari is the Palestine Policy Fellow for Al Shabaka - The Palestinian Policy Network. She completed her PhD at the University of Exeter in Middle East politics and frequently writes for various media outlets. Her article was published in the Middle East Eye.
3 jan 2018
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said Wednesday that it had yet to receive official notice from the US about prospective cuts to funding, following threats to do so by the Trump administration.
“We have had no information from the US administration about any changes to US contributions to UNRWA,” UNRWA Spokesman, Sami Mushasha, said in a statement.
President Donald Trump said in tweets on Tuesday that the United States may withhold future aid payments to Palestinians, accusing them of being “no longer willing to talk peace” with Israel.
Mushasha said that the biggest ten donor states provide UNRWA with over 80% of its income. He expressed gratitude to the donor countries and affirmed that UNRWA will work with all partners to cover all its financial needs in 2018.
The statement listed the names of the biggest 10 donor countries who grant the UN organization with a total of 874,177,965 million American dollars. The United States came in the first place (364 million dollars) followed by the European Union (143 million dollars) followed by Germany (76 million dollars).
“We have had no information from the US administration about any changes to US contributions to UNRWA,” UNRWA Spokesman, Sami Mushasha, said in a statement.
President Donald Trump said in tweets on Tuesday that the United States may withhold future aid payments to Palestinians, accusing them of being “no longer willing to talk peace” with Israel.
Mushasha said that the biggest ten donor states provide UNRWA with over 80% of its income. He expressed gratitude to the donor countries and affirmed that UNRWA will work with all partners to cover all its financial needs in 2018.
The statement listed the names of the biggest 10 donor countries who grant the UN organization with a total of 874,177,965 million American dollars. The United States came in the first place (364 million dollars) followed by the European Union (143 million dollars) followed by Germany (76 million dollars).
Hamas movement on Wednesday slammed the US president Donald Trump's threats to cut US aid to UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas's spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement that Trump's threats to stop the aid until the Palestinian Authority returns to negotiations with the Israeli occupation are "cheap political blackmail" that unmasks the US barbaric policy.
Barhoum stressed the importance of achieving national unity to be able to confront these pressures and called for investing more Arab and international efforts in support of the Palestinian rights against the US and Israeli policies.
Hamas's spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement that Trump's threats to stop the aid until the Palestinian Authority returns to negotiations with the Israeli occupation are "cheap political blackmail" that unmasks the US barbaric policy.
Barhoum stressed the importance of achieving national unity to be able to confront these pressures and called for investing more Arab and international efforts in support of the Palestinian rights against the US and Israeli policies.
The US administration has threatened to stop funding the UNRWA unless the Palestinian Authority (PA) sits again with Israel at the negotiating table.
"He [Trump] does not want to give any additional funding until the Palestinians agree to come back to the negotiation table, and what we saw with the resolution was not helpful to the situation," US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley told a news conference on Tuesday.
"We are trying to move for a peace process, but if that does not happen, the president is not going to continue to fund that situation," she added.
The PA leadership recently declared that the current US administration proved itself unfit to be an honest mediator in the peace process after it gave itself the right to recognize Occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
"He [Trump] does not want to give any additional funding until the Palestinians agree to come back to the negotiation table, and what we saw with the resolution was not helpful to the situation," US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley told a news conference on Tuesday.
"We are trying to move for a peace process, but if that does not happen, the president is not going to continue to fund that situation," she added.
The PA leadership recently declared that the current US administration proved itself unfit to be an honest mediator in the peace process after it gave itself the right to recognize Occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Page: 2 - 1
