BEIRUT, LEBANON (4:00 P.M.) – The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has made the decision to suspend the funding to the United Nations Relief and Works (UNWRA), which has spent over 70 years aiding Palestinians that were made refugees by the 1948 War.
In a statement released via his official Twitter account, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused the humanitarian aid agency of fraud and wasting resources, while also claiming there were “concerns of support to terrorism.”
“We suspended funding to UNRWA, which is riddled with waste, fraud & concerns of support to terrorism. UNRWA is not a refugee agency; it’s estimated <200,000 Arabs displaced in 1948 are still alive and most others are not refugees by any rational criteria,” Pompeo said.
According to Pompeo, U.S. taxpayers deserve to know “basic truths” about the money given to the UNRWA, which he said was a hurdle to peace.
“Taxpayers deserve basic truths: most Palestinians under UNRWA’s jurisdiction aren’t refugees, and UNRWA is a hurdle to peace. America supports peace and Palestinian human rights; UNRWA supports neither. It’s time to end UNRWA’s mandate.”
This latest move by the Trump administration appears to be one of its last in regards to Middle East peace and a major blow to the Palestinians that are still living as refugees.
