Geneva/Bethlehem The head of the UN agency for Palestinians criticised Tuesday the “political dimension” of the US decision to dramatically slash funding to the organisation, warning the cuts could lead to rising instability. Pierre Krahenbuhl lamented that the US decision to reduce funding for United Nations’ Relief and Welfare Agency (UNRWA) this year by $300 million “has a political dimension that I think should be avoided”.
Palestinians have been angered by a US decision to cut its annual contribution towards the running of UNRWA. On January 16, President Donald Trump announced his decision to hold back $65 million that had been earmarked for the agency. On January 25, he accused Palestinians of disrespecting America and threatened to withhold aid worth hundreds of millions of dollars until they accede to US-brokered talks. The Palestinians have rejected the US pressure. “Not meeting your oppressor is not a sign of disrespect; it is a sign of self-respect,” senior Palestinian official, Hanan Ashrawi, said.
King Abdullah of Jordan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held talks on Monday as part of ongoing consultations on developments related to the Palestinian issue and occupied Jerusalem. The talks also focused on the key role of UNRWA, and the need for international support of the agency, which has six million registered refugees.
On Monday, UN employees in Gaza held a protest over US aid cuts. Schools, clinics and food distribution centres in the Gaza Strip were closed on Monday due to a one-day strike by the 13,000 UNRWA employees, which runs 278 schools in Gaza attended by some 300,000 students.
Meanwhile, Palestinians protesting against Trump’s policy on occupied Jerusalem halted a US-coordinated Palestinian marketing workshop in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, damaging an American diplomatic vehicle as it sped away.
Protesters threw tomatoes at the sports utility vehicle, which had US consular licence plates, kicked one of its doors and ripped the plastic casing off a side mirror as it drove off under Palestinian police escort from the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce.
Samir Hazboun, the chamber’s director, told Reuters that a digital marketing workshop was under way when about five protesters barged in.
“We hosted an American expert on this issue. Some people who have been trying to express their point of view and protest (against) the American decision regarding [occupied] Jerusalem and the political situation ... interrupted the workshop and we stopped the workshop,” Hazboun said.
The US Consulate in occupied Jerusalem, which helped organise the workshop, declined immediate comment.
