US snubs UNRWA with $53 million in USAID for Palestinians
Funds to go through World Food Program, other NGOs after evidence linking UNRWA members and Hamas
The US announced on Tuesday a $53 million plan for humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank through USAID, which will circumvent UNRWA.
Administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power said that the funds would go through the World Food Program and other international NGOs, providing assistance in food, health, nutrition, shelter, protection, water, sanitation and hygiene.
This comes after the US and other countries have halted funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), following evidence provided by Israel that many members support Hamas and are even a part of the terrorist organization.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly pleaded for funding to the agency to continue.
"What the secretary-general would like to see is a return of funding to UNRWA from those partners who have paused their funding," a spokesperson for Guterres said when asked about the diverting of funds from UNRWA.
"We are doing whatever we can to answer their questions, to answer their concerns. Obviously, there are other agencies operating in Gaza and we talk about them all the time. I talked about WFP today. We've talked about UNFPA, the World Health Organization. They all need cash. They all need assistance."