#WORLD NEWS JANUARY 5, 2018 / 4:00 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

U.S. freezes $125 million funds for Palestinian refugees: report

Reuters Staff
2 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has frozen $125 million in funding for a U.N. agency that provides aid to Palestinian refugees, Axios news site reported on Friday, days after President Donald Trump threatened to withhold future aid payments to Palestinians.

But a State Department official said no decision had been made on the funding.

The funding, a third of the annual U.S. donation to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, was supposed to be delivered by Jan. 1 but was frozen until the U.S. government finishes its review of aid to the Palestinian Authority, Axios reported, citing three unidentified Western diplomats.

The State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “That (Axios) story is very misleading. Just because they were expecting the money on the first, and they did not get it at that time, does not mean it was suspended or canceled. Deliberations are ongoing, and we have until mid-January to make a final decision.”

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Barak Ravid Of Israel's Channel 10 News 2 hrs ago

Scoop: U.S. freezes funds to U.N. relief agency, diplomats say

The Trump administration has frozen $125 million in funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which provides aid to Palestinian refugees, according to three Western diplomats who were informed of the move. They said the funding, one third of the annual U.S. donations to the agency, was supposed to be transferred by Jan. 1 but was withheld.

Why it matters: A funding freeze could be seen as a slap against the organization — which the U.S. and Israel consider to be biased against Israel and too politicized — and an attempt to pressure the Palestinians to return to peace talks with Israel. But a State Department official said that the fact the money wasn't transferred on Jan. 1 doesn't mean it was frozen. "There are still deliberations taking place, and we have until mid January to decide what we are going to do,” the official said.

The details: The diplomats, who asked to speak on conditions of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the funding was frozen until the Trump administration finishes its review of U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority.

The move comes after the Palestinian Authority suspended their contacts with the Trump administration in response to its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. A senior White House official said no decision have been made yet, but confirmed that a review of the U.S. assistance to the Palestinians is underway "in light of the Palestinians' recent conduct."

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