US ends funding for UN Palestinian refugee agency

By
AFP

September 01, 2018

The Palestinian employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) hold a sign during a protest — against the US decision to cut aid — in Gaza City, Palestine, January 29, 2018. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem/Files
 

WASHINGTON: The United States is halting its funding for the United Nations' agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, after determining that the organization is "irredeemably flawed," the State Department said on Friday.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which was formed in December 1949, is supported by voluntary contributions from UN member states.

"The administration has carefully reviewed the issue and determined that the United States will not make additional contributions to UNRWA," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement.