Washington _ Palestine News Network
US President Donald Trump´s administration has decided to reduce US aid to the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, "after a review of aid to the Palestinians," and the US State Department informed the US Congress of the decision on Friday.
The amount of assistance withheld amounts to $200 million annually.
At the beginning of this month, the White House decided to keep 200 million dollars of direct US aid earmarked for Palestinian relief in Gaza and the West Bank, cutting off the vital lifeline at a time of escalating political and security tensions in the region, according Informed sources.
This amount represents almost all the humanitarian assistance that the United States provides directly to the Palestinians.
Washington is also contributing to the budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), but the administration has reduced the amount of aid by more than 60 percent since the beginning of this year.
It appears that there are no immediate plans to lift the booking of such assistance, "the fact that the administration is reviewing and evaluating all United States assistance to the Palestinians," said State Department spokeswoman Heather Manoeuvred in response to a question from "Jerusalem" regarding aid provided to the Palestinians.
"All the assistance provided to the Palestinians is under review," State Department spokeswoman Heather Manoeuvred said last week.
In the last week of July, the US State Department released "tens of millions of dollars" to the Palestinian Authority to strengthen Palestinian security frameworks and security coordination with Israel.
I have a question "Jerusalem" about the real amount of this aid and whether it is for once, and I promised the spokeswoman I would "look at it and get back to you."
The decision to curtail US aid to the Palestinians coincides with a wave of wage cuts and the release of hundreds of UNRWA workers and staff and other international aid workers in the West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip, which has been facing the worst humanitarian crisis since 1967.
The US Congress has allocated 230 million dollars in economic support to special relief groups in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, but officials (BUUSU and Kochner) have decided they would ask lawmakers to withhold most of the money, according to diplomatic sources revealed by the magazine Foreign police on 11 August.
"We have nothing to declare at this time," the spokeswoman said, while a spokesman for the White House National Security Council confirmed that "no decision has yet been taken in this regard."
