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.
