The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Friday that it has embarked on a fundraising campaign that will likely include a ministerial-level donors conference next month to fill the gap left by the Donald Trump administration’s sudden cut of tens of millions of dollars in funding.
Scott Anderson, the agency’s West Bank operations director who just visited Washington, said the U.S. hasn’t yet spelled out what reforms it wants to see implemented in order to restore the $65 million it is withholding now and possibly millions more it may hold back in the future.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) was notified on January 16 that the U.S. was withholding $65 million of a planned $125 million instalment and demanding a “fundamental re-examination” of the agency in addition to changes to its programmes, which have been heavily criticised by Israel.
UNRWA, which serves some five million Palestinian refugees and their descendants, had a budget of over $1 billion last year. The U.S. gave $350 million of that amount and was the agency’s largest donor.
Mr. Trump told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on January 25 that the Palestinians must return to peace talks to receive U.S. aid money.
