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US to give Palestinians $5m in coronavirus aid - 1% of what Trump cut
Source: The Guardian
US to give Palestinians $5m in coronavirus aid – 1% of what Trump cut
President accused of damaging Palestinian ability to cope with pandemic by cutting funding
Oliver Holmes in Jerusalem
Fri 17 Apr 2020 11.33 BST
Last modified on Fri 17 Apr 2020 17.25 BST
The United States has announced it will give $5m to the Palestinians to help them fight the coronavirus epidemic, roughly 1% of the amount Washington provided a year before Donald Trump cut almost all aid.
The US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, a former Trump bankruptcy lawyer, announced the aid package on Twitter, saying he was “very pleased” the US would provide money for Palestinian hospitals and households.
“The USA, as the world’s top humanitarian aid donor, is committed to assisting the Palestinian people, & others worldwide, in this crisis,” he said.
Palestinian authorities and charities say the Trump administration is partly to blame for a deteriorating humanitarian situation that leaves them unprepared to face the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in the blockaded Gaza Strip but also the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
In 2018, Trump gradually cut virtually all US money to Palestinian aid projects after the Palestinian leadership accused him of being biased towards Israel and refused to talk. The US president accused Palestinians of lacking “appreciation or respect”.
-snip-
President accused of damaging Palestinian ability to cope with pandemic by cutting funding
Oliver Holmes in Jerusalem
Fri 17 Apr 2020 11.33 BST
Last modified on Fri 17 Apr 2020 17.25 BST
The United States has announced it will give $5m to the Palestinians to help them fight the coronavirus epidemic, roughly 1% of the amount Washington provided a year before Donald Trump cut almost all aid.
The US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, a former Trump bankruptcy lawyer, announced the aid package on Twitter, saying he was “very pleased” the US would provide money for Palestinian hospitals and households.
“The USA, as the world’s top humanitarian aid donor, is committed to assisting the Palestinian people, & others worldwide, in this crisis,” he said.
Palestinian authorities and charities say the Trump administration is partly to blame for a deteriorating humanitarian situation that leaves them unprepared to face the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in the blockaded Gaza Strip but also the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
In 2018, Trump gradually cut virtually all US money to Palestinian aid projects after the Palestinian leadership accused him of being biased towards Israel and refused to talk. The US president accused Palestinians of lacking “appreciation or respect”.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/17/us-aid-palestinians-coronavirus-trump-cut