It took more than a week for a senior Jordanian official to react to US threats to cut funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the international body responsible for the welfare of almost 5 million registered Palestinian refugees. Some 2 million of the refugees reside in Jordan, making the kingdom the biggest host country.

On Jan. 2, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley threatened that the United States would cut funding to UNRWA, estimated at $319 million annually, in retaliation for the decision by the Palestinian leadership to go to the Security Council and the General Assembly to extract a resolution condemning President Donald Trump’s Dec. 6 proclamation recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. On Jan. 5, reports circulated that the United States had suspended a $125 million payment to UNRWA because of the Palestinians' refusal to return to peace talks, but the State Department said the decision was still being reviewed.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi only put forward the kingdom’s position in a phone call to UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl on Jan. 11. He was quoted by Ammon News as saying that it was necessary to “continue to support the agency in order to maintain its services to refugees whose case should be resolved within the final status talks based on international laws, especially UN Resolution 194, and the Arab Peace Initiative, guaranteeing their right of return and compensation.” There was no direct criticism of the US move.

Before Safadi’s comments, Yasin Abu Awwad, director general of the Department of Palestinian Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, had said Jan. 9, “UNRWA will continue its operations and providing services to the Palestinian refugees until the Palestinian issue is resolved in line with UN Resolution 194.” His remarks were made in response to the Jan. 7 call of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for UNRWA to be shut down and its responsibilities transfered to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).