UN rings alarm bell as US cuts funds for Palestinian refugees

RAMALLAH (Palestinian Territories), Jan 17 (AFP) - The UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned Wednesday it faced its worst funding crisis ever after the White House froze tens of millions of dollars in contributions, a move Palestinian leaders decried as cruel and blatantly biased.
The agency provides Palestinian refugees and their descendants across the Middle East with services including schools and medical care, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long accused it of hostility toward Israel and called for its closure.
Some five million Palestinians are eligible for its services.
On Tuesday, the United States held back $65 million that had been destined for the agency, two weeks after President Donald Trump threatened future payments.
The United States is the largest contributor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA).
"The US has announced it will contribute $60 million to the programme budget. There is for the moment no other indication of possible funding," UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness told AFP.
"This dramatically reduced contribution results in the most severe funding crisis in the history of the agency."
Senior Palestinian officials reacted with outrage to what they see as another move against them by Trump's White House following his declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said the freeze amounted to "cruelty" toward an "innocent and vulnerable population."
The Palestinian envoy to Washington, Husam Zomlot, said: "Palestinian refugees and children's access to basic humanitarian services, such as food, health care and education, is not a bargaining chip but a US and international obligation."
Palestinian officials also accused Trump of chipping away at issues long considered up for negotiation as part of a comprehensive resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the status of Jerusalem and the plight of refugees.
Around 500 people protested in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday against the freeze.
The funding freeze comes with relations between the Palestinians and Washington already on the brink.
On Sunday, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas denounced Trump's peace efforts as the "slap of the century," while Palestinian leaders have threatened to suspend their recognition of Israel.
US State Department officials insisted the decision to freeze the funding was taken not to pressure Palestinian leaders but to encourage other countries to help pay for and reform UNRWA.
But the call came after a behind-the-scenes tussle between hawks who want to cut all aid to Palestinians and officials concerned about the humanitarian and diplomatic fallout.
The State Department said $60 million of what had been a planned $125 million package would go through to keep the agency running, but the rest will be withheld for now.
UNRWA chief Pierre Krahenbuhl expressed alarm and immediately called on other UN members to contribute.
"At stake is the access of 525,000 boys and girls in 700 UNRWA schools, and their future," he said in a statement.