A senior international adviser to the Majlis speaker condemned a recent move by the US administration to end funding for the UN agency responsible for providing education, health care and other services to Palestinian refugees.
In remarks released on Monday, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, who also is secretary general of the International Conference on Supporting Palestinian Intifada (Uprising), denounced the US move to halt the refugee aid as US President Donald Trump’s yet another crime against the Palestinian people and “a blatant violation” of the refugee rights, Tasnim News Agency reported.
He cautioned the Trump White House of the consequences of its support for Israeli crimes and the deteriorating situation of five million Palestinian refugees. Amir Abdollahian said the US should be held accountable for the moves against humanity and human rights.
The US State Department said Friday that it would no longer support the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which operates in the occupied territories as well as Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. It described the organization as “irredeemably flawed”.
The announcement sparked anger and concern, even though it had been widely anticipated. Critics see the move as part of a concerted plan to undermine core Palestinian demands in peace negotiations and say it could further destabilize the Middle East.
The decision means the US, by far the biggest UNRWA donor, will withhold $300 million in annual funds, which it had agreed to provide only last December. President Donald Trump had already axed $200 million in aid for Gaza and the West Bank.
Palestinians have condemned the US decision to halt funding the UN agency that helps educate, feed and provide healthcare for more than 5 million Palestinian refugees across several countries as a “flagrant assault” on their rights.
