Palestine Slams US for End of UNRWA Funding Program

"We reject and condemn the US decision in its entirety," the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Saeb Erekat, said in a statement on Friday, adding it ran counter to international law and was a "gift to extremists and terrorists in the region."

A spokesman for the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, Chris Gunness, has also rejected US claims that the charity was "irredeemably flawed." He has said the US move was surprising given that they renewed a funding pact last December, which acknowledged the agency's "successful, dedicated and professional management."

Moreover, spokesman for the Russian mission to the UN, Fedor Strzhizhovskiy, has warned that the US move would complicate peace process in the Middle East. Strzhizhovskiy pledged continued Russian assistance to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which supports 5.4 million Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

READ MORE: Hamas Calls Trump’s Threats to Stop Funding UNRWA ‘Political Extortion’

The United States in January withheld a part of $350 million in annual funds for the UNRWA after US President Donald Trump said that Palestinians lacked the willingness to hold peace talks with Israel.