US cut aid to Palestine refugees by half

Фото: Depositphotos

The US State Department froze the transfer of 65 to the millions of dollars that it planned to transfer to the UN agency for assistance to Palestinian refugees.

The State Department calls for the reform of this agency, as well as for the level of their assistance to refugees to be increased by other countries, especially those who criticize the recognition by the US President Donald Trump of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, writes NPR.

Initially, the United Nations Assistance Agency for Palestine Refugees was allocated 125 million dollars from the United States. Instead, the State Department sent 60 million dollars, which, according to a spokesman for the agency, Heather Nauert, will go to support schools and medical facilities and pay salaries to their employees.

The remaining 65 million dollars, according to Nauert, "are not canceled, but simply frozen, and the decision to send them will be made during further consideration."

For years, the United States has been a major donor to the United Nations Palestine Refugee Relief Agency. Now the State Department has called on other countries criticizing the US decision on Jerusalem to take a more active financial part in the work of this organization.

Under the auspices of the Agency, there are about 700 schools where more than 500 000 people study.

In response to this decision of the Department of State, representatives of the Palestinian Authority said that a reduction in funding for refugees would not lead to a lasting and comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the other hand, highly appreciated this move, calling it the right decision.

US Representative to the UN Nikki Haley called for a complete cessation of US funding for Palestinian refugees, but Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis fear that a complete cessation of aid would aggravate the already volatile situation in the region, and therefore called for a partial reduction.

Recall 6 December, US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and urged the State Department to begin the process of moving the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

December 18 on this issue held a meeting of the UN Security Council. Then 14 from 15 of the Security Council member countries, including such US allies as Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, France and Ukraine, supported a resolution prohibiting anyone from recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, but United States used the right of veto permanent member.

December 21 held emergency meeting of the UN General Assemblyin which the 128 member countries of the General Assembly from 193 spoke out against Trump's decision.

December 25, following the United States, Guatemala announced the transfer of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Israelis consider Jerusalem their capital. Palestinians insist that the capital of the future Palestinian state should be located in the eastern part of Jerusalem.

Israel declared Jerusalem its capital after the end of the War of Independence in 1949. In 1967, after the Six Day War, he captured East Jerusalem and united it with West, but the UN did not recognize this because of the claims of Palestine, so the city was divided into zones of influence and is considered an occupied territory, and all diplomatic missions of countries that have relations with Israel located mainly in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Herzliya.

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