Trump administration looks to "shake things up a bit" in peace talks
The Trump administration has not yet cut any direct U.S. aid to the Palestinians. But given President Trump's comments on Thursday, it is possible they will.
During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Trump said that aid to Palestinians wouldn't continue until they are willing to "sit down and negotiate peace."
Mr. Trump said that the Palestinians had "disrespected" the U.S. by not allowing Vice President Mike Pence to see them on his trip to the Middle East. Mr. Trump then suggested that he could withhold aid money.
"This was never brought up by any negotiators," Trump said. "But it's brought up by me."
Meanwhile, the administration is looking for ways "shake things up a bit" to get the Palestinians and Israelis back to the table, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said.
"There are a lot of things are under review," said Heather Nauert. "The president sees that nothing has happened with regard to peace process over many decades and they are looking for ways to get people back to the table and get people back to the peace talks."
When Pence visited the region earlier this week, Palestinian President Abbas was meeting with European leaders in Brussels about peace talks. When asked if Abbas' perceived slight against Pence was a factor in determining whether aid would continue, Nauert replied that she "wouldn't say that."
For the last five years, the U.S. has provided the Palestinian Authority with more than $55 million in annual security assistance. One of the goals of the security assistance it to prevent attacks on Israelis.
USAID also provides assistance to Palestine. The USAID website says that, due to their support, "Palestinian farmers increased exports by $23 million last year by improving standards and encouraging cooperation and innovation for economic benefits and global competitiveness."
The U.S. is also temporarily holding $65 million of funding to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA). However, the U.S. still contributed $60 million to the program under the Trump administration while withholding the other funds. Under the Obama administration in 2015, the US gave $380.5 million to UNWRA, and in 2014 gave $408 million.
The U.S. wants UNWRA to be funded more by other countries. Belgium and the Netherlands pledged extra UNRWA funding after the US put its aid on hold. Together their commitment amounted to more than $38 million. Nauert said that the US is "pleased" with the countries' understanding that they "need to do more."
The UNRWA announcement came earlier this year, just days after Mr. Trump tweeted that the U.S. is giving Palestinians hundreds of millions of dollars "for nothing" and gets "no appreciation or respect." Secretary of State Rex Tillerson then figured out a way to satisfy Mr. Trump without cutting all U.S. support by halting some UNRWA funding.
At the time, Nauert rejected the idea that the administration would cancel UNRWA money altogether. She said cutting funding in total would have a "negative impact," specifically for schools and health services for Palestinian refugees.