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US Resumes Aid to Palestinians With $235 Million

Margaret Besheer

   The United States said Wednesday it is restarting assistance to the
   Palestinians, announcing $235 million in new humanitarian, economic and
   development support, reversing a Trump-era decision to cut such
   funding.

   The bulk of the money will go through the U.N. agency for Palestinian
   refugees -- United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) -- which
   received $150 million. Another $10 million will be disbursed through
   USAID for peace-building programs; and $75 million will fund economic
   and development assistance in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Security
   assistance programs also will restart.
   FILE - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State
   Department in Washington, April 5, 2021.

   "U.S. foreign assistance for the Palestinian people serves important
   U.S. interests and values," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a
   statement announcing the resumption of aid. "It provides critical
   relief to those in great need, fosters economic development, and
   supports Israeli-Palestinian understanding, security coordination and
   stability. It also aligns with the values and interests of our allies
   and partners."

   In 2018, as relations between the Trump administration and the
   Palestinian Authority leadership deteriorated over the administration's
   decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the U.S.
   Embassy there, the administration cut more than $200 million in
   bilateral aid. That year, it also began to cut its support to UNRWA,
   ultimately withdrawing more than $300 million in support.

   UNRWA assists some 5.7 million Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip,
   West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria with essential services, including
   education and health care. The withdrawal of U.S. funding caused an
   unprecedented financial crisis for the agency.
   FILE - Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of UNRWA, speaks to
   the media in Amman, Jordan, Dec. 12, 2020.

   UNRWA's Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said at a U.N. meeting
   Wednesday before the official announcement that the agency would still
   have financial difficulties, even with restored support from
   Washington. It is facing a shortfall of more than $200 million this
   year to its core program budget, as needs grow.

   "Our main priority is to keep all UNRWA services to Palestinian
   refugees in the region running," Lazzarini said.

   But he welcomed the renewed engagement from the United States.

   "There is no other institution that does what UNRWA does, and we are
   committed to protecting the safety, health and future of the millions
   of refugees we serve," he said in a statement after the announcement.
   "The U.S. contribution comes at a critical moment, as we continue to
   adjust to the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic presents. We encourage
   all Member States to contribute to UNRWA."

   COVID-19 has complicated an already stressed situation. The West Bank
   is in the midst of a third wave of the virus, while Gaza is in a second
   wave.

   Gwyn Lewis, director of UNRWA operations in the West Bank, said the
   pandemic has dramatically affected the economy, with incomes cut in
   half in 40% of West Bank households, while unemployment in Gaza is a
   staggering 49%.

   The Palestinian Authority launched a vaccination campaign in February.
   And Israel said in March it would vaccinate 100,000 Palestinians who
   have permits to work in Israel. The World Health Organization's COVAX
   facility has sent an initial shipment of 200,000 doses of vaccine.
   A Palestinian member of the education staff receives a dose of
   Sinopharm vaccine against the coronavirus as schools are set to reopen
   partially, in Tubas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, April 6, 2021.

   Jordan and Sweden have said they plan to host an international
   conference later this year, tentatively in late June or early July, to
   reengage the international community around UNRWA. The agency has long
   suffered from a lack of predictable, consistent and adequate funding.

   "This would be a very needed, significant amount of money to address
   the challenges that UNRWA is facing," Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad
   Mansour said of Washington's resumption of funding to UNRWA.

   Gilad Erdan, Israel's U.N. ambassador, opposed the decision.

   "In conversations with the U.S. State Department, I have expressed my
   disappointment and objection to the decision to renew UNRWA's funding
   without first ensuring that certain reforms, including stopping the
   incitement and removing anti-Semitic content from its educational
   curriculum, are carried out," Erdan said in a statement.

   UNRWA operates more than 700 schools across the region, providing
   education for more than a half-million Palestinian children. The U.N.
   agency says it has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and
   incitement to hatred and violence in all of its schools and operations.

   Since its establishment in 1949 until the Trump administration decision
   in 2018, the United States was UNRWA's largest donor.