UNRWA chief slams ‘political dimension’ of US aid cut to Palestinians
Head of UN agency says Washington’s reduced funding creates ‘the most serious financial crisis ever in the history of this agency’
The head of the UN agency for Palestinians criticized Tuesday the “political dimension” of a US decision to dramatically slash funding to the organization, warning the move could lead to rising instability.
Pierre Krahenbuhl said the US decision to reduce funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) “has a political dimension that I think should be avoided.”
He claimed Washington would slash payments by $300 million, contributing just $60 million to the agency’s 2018 budget.
But the administrator of the US Agency for International Development said Friday that the Trump administration had not yet made decisions regarding cuts in humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
“This process is ongoing, and no funding decisions have been made. As the President said, the United States expects the Palestinian leadership to work with us,” USAID’s Mark Green told The Times of Israel on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Krahenbuhl made the comments while issuing an emergency appeal for more than $800 million in funds to provide additional assistance to Palestinian refugees in Syria, Gaza and the West Bank.
Krahenbuhl said the cuts were clearly linked to the Palestinian leadership’s decision to freeze ties with the US after President Donald Trump’s December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and declared that Washington could no longer be the main mediator in talks with Israel.
The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
“It has always been and it will always be for every humanitarian agency … an imperative to preserve and ensure that humanitarian funding is preserved from politicization,” Krahenbuhl said. “It is very important that humanitarian funding not be caught up in political considerations.”
“The whole point of supporting communities in very difficult conflict environments is that one doesn’t have to agree with anyone’s leadership,” he added. “One is concerned with the well-being… of communities.”
He noted that UNRWA provides essential services to some 5.3 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip, including running 700 schools and 140 health clinics.
“It is not the first time in our long and proud history that we face challenges of this nature, but it is in financial terms the most serious financial crisis ever in the history of this agency,” he said.
Cuts to those and other services for populations often already in dire need and lacking any possibilities to move or to improve their situations could be a recipe for disaster, he warned.
“There is no doubt that if no solution is found to the shortfall… It is clear that if that is not bridged, then there will be increased instability,” Krahenbuhl said. “Cutting and reducing funding to UNRWA is not good for regional stability.”
Last week, Israeli media reported that US officials are reevaluating the entirety of Washington’s aid budget to the Palestinian Authority.
According to the Hadashot TV news, which indicated the report was based on US sources, the $100 million cut to UNRWA may well only be the start, as a diplomatic crisis between Washington and Ramallah deepens.
A top proponent of further cuts is said to be US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, who reportedly wants the Palestinian leadership to pay for its attitude toward the Trump administration. Other officials are said to oppose further cuts.
There was no confirmation of the TV report.
Trump has also threatened to cut US funding for the Palestinians.
Earlier this month, Trump asked why Washington should make “any of these massive future payments,” when the Palestinians were “no longer willing to talk peace.”
In a tweet, the US president dismissed Palestinian fury over his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying he had planned for Israel “to pay” in future negotiations for his declaration. But Palestinian intransigence was now preventing any progress on peace talks, he said.
Washington had been paying the Palestinian Authority hundreds of millions of dollars a year “for nothing,” he wrote, complaining that the US received “no appreciation or respect” in return.
“They don’t even want to negotiate a long overdue peace treaty with Israel,” he said. “We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table, but Israel, for that, would have had to pay more.”
“But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace,” he went on, “why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?”
The State Department denied that the partial funding freeze announced last month was to punish the Palestinian Authority, saying it was linked to necessary “reform” of UNRWA.
Krahenbuhl said at the time that the organization had not been informed by the US of any new reform demands, and had been “caught up” in a political dispute.
In Davos on Thursday, Trump said US aid to the Palestinian Authority was contingent on the Palestinians returning to peace talks.
