(Foreign Policy) Colum Lynch - Two months after the U.S. withheld $65 million in funding for UNRWA, the UN agency that serves Palestinian refugees, no other country has stepped forward to increase its 2018 funding pledge. In an effort to address the cutback, ministers from 90 countries will meet in Rome on Thursday to discuss Palestinian aid. The decision to cut U.S. funding was taken in retaliation for the Palestinian Authority's promotion of two UN resolutions condemning President Trump's Dec. 6, 2017, announcement that the U.S. would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. The impact of the budget cuts has been partially mitigated by the fact that at least 15 donors, including the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, have agreed to immediately transfer their entire annual contribution for 2018.
2018-03-15 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive