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18 April 2024

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Reuters: Trump is expected to stop U.S. engagement with UNRWA

04-02-2025 07:57 AM


Ammon News - U.S. President Donald Trump is expected on Tuesday to stop U.S. engagement with the United Nations Human Rights Council and continue a halt to funding for the U.N. Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, a White House official said on Monday.

The move coincides with a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long been critical of UNRWA, accusing the agency of anti-Israel incitement and its staff of being "involved in terrorist activities against Israel."

The United Nations and UNRWA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

During Trump's first term in office, from 2017-2021, he also cut off funding for UNRWA, questioning its value, saying that Palestinians needed to agree to renew peace talks with Israel, and calling for unspecified reforms.

The first Trump administration also quit the 47-member Human Rights Council halfway through a three-year term over what it called chronic bias against Israel and a lack of reform. The U.S. is not currently a member of the Geneva-based body. Under Democratic former President Joe Biden, the U.S. was re-elected and served a 2022-2024 term.

Since taking office for a second term on Jan. 20, Trump has ordered that the U.S. withdraw from the World Health Organization and from the Paris climate agreement - also steps he took during his first term in office.

The U.S. was UNRWA's biggest donor - providing $300 million-$400 million a year - but Biden paused funding in January 2024 after Israel accused about a dozen UNRWA staff of taking part in the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Palestinian militants Hamas that triggered the war in Gaza.

The U.S. Congress then formally suspended contributions to UNRWA until at least March 2025. Reuters




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