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.

The US aid provided to Palestinians is divided into two parts: The first part offered by Washington to UNRWA covers its services to Palestinian refugees and pays employees’ salaries. The second part is provided through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which implements projects in several fields in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The United States does not give any direct funding to the PA and its government.

An official source at the US Consulate in Jerusalem told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity the unpublished figures of Washington’s 2017 donations. The source said, “Washington offered $355 million to UNRWA in 2017, $95 million of which was allocated to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.”