US threatens to cut funds to Palestinians unless negotiations resume

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley announced that President Donald Trump will not support funding for the Palestinians’ primary UN agency unless the Palestinians return to negotiations.

By: Ebin Sandler, World Israel News

At a press conference at the United Nations (UN) on Tuesday, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley fielded questions about the fate of US funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the primary UN agency responsible for funneling aid to the Palestinians.

In a video posted by Reuters, Haley responded to a question regarding whether the US would continue to fund the agency in light of the Palestinians’ threat to “unleash all the weapons we have in the UN,” by saying, “[President Trump] doesn’t want to give any additional funding, or stop funding, until the Palestinians agree to come back to the negotiation table, and what we saw with the [UN Jerusalem] resolution was not helpful to the situation.”

“We’re trying to move for a peace process, but if that doesn’t happen, the president is not going to continue to fund that situation,” Haley emphasized, without clarifying whether the term “situation” referred specifically to UNRWA’s operations.

Haley stressed that the US seeks the resumption of the peace process, stressing, “The Palestinians now have to show the world they want to come to the table. As of now, they’re not coming to the table, but they ask for aid. We’re not giving the aid, we’re going to make sure they come to the table and we want to move forward with the peace process.”

Haley’s responses were provided against the backdrop of an announcement in December that the US recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and plans to move its embassy there, which was met by a UN resolution condemning the move. The Palestinians announced shortly thereafter that the US will no longer play a role in mediating an agreement with Israel.