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RAMALLAH, West Bank — The US Department of State announced Jan. 16 that Washington has decided to withhold $65 million out of its $125 million contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to pay the salaries of its employees and the expenses of refugees in schools and health facilities under its management in Jordan, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria. The decision comes after US President Donald Trump threatened in a tweet Jan. 2 to cut aid and funding to the Palestinian Authority (PA) because it refused to negotiate on a peace agreement with Israel.
UNRWA’s total budget (regular, emergency and project budgets) is equivalent to $300 million, according to an UNRWA press statement Jan. 16.
