― Reuters picWASHINGTON, Jan 6 ― The United States has frozen US$125 million (RM499.6 million) in funding for a UN agency that provides aid to Palestinian refugees, Axios news site reported yesterday, days after President Donald Trump threatened to withhold future aid payments to Palestinians. The State Department told UNRWA officials this week that no hold had been placed on the money, but that the Trump administration was conducting a review of funding to the Palestinians, according to a U.N. official who spoke on background to discuss internal deliberations on the matter. The funding, a third of the annual U.S. donation to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, was supposed to be delivered by Jan. 1 but was frozen until the U.S. government finishes its review of aid to the Palestinian Authority, Axios reported, citing three unidentified Western diplomats. They don’t even want to negotiate a long overdue peace treaty with Israel ... with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?” Trump said on Twitter.
An anonymous U.S. State Department official says no decision has been made on the scheduled January 1, 2018, $125-million payment to the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency), which administers aid for Palestinian refugees. Media reports had stated the money was frozen. The official added the government is still reviewing U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority and has until January 15 to resolve the issue.