The US President Joe Biden’s administration plans on providing 235 Million Dollars of aid to Palestinians, to restore parts of the assistance cut by Ex-President Donald Trump.
Two-thirds will go to the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, which has suffered a financial crisis since it lost $360m of US funding in 2018.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said that the US plans include $75m in economic and development assistance in the West Bank and Gaza, $10m for peacebuilding programmes through the US Agency for International Development (USAid), and $150m in humanitarian assistance for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa).
Meanwhile, The US will also plan to resume security assistance programmes with the Palestinians.
“US foreign assistance for the Palestinian people serves important US interests and values,” Mr Blinken said. “It provides critical relief to those in great need, fosters economic development, and supports Israeli-Palestinian understanding, security co-ordination and stability. It also aligns with the values and interests of our allies and partners.
“The United States is committed to advancing prosperity, security, and freedom for both Israelis and Palestinians in tangible ways in the immediate term, which is important in its own right, but also as a means to advance towards a negotiated two-state solution.”
Unrwa Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said the agency “could not be more pleased that once again we will partner with the United States to provide critical assistance to some of the most vulnerable refugees across the Middle East”.
Israel’s foreign ministry said its position was that Unrwa “in its current form perpetuates the conflict and does not contribute to its resolution”. The renewal of US aid “should be accompanied by substantial and necessary changes in the nature, goals and conduct of the organization”, it added.
This news has come as a huge relief to Palestinians. Their economy is propped up by international donors and was left reeling by the dramatic cuts of the Trump administration.
