US $200 Million Aid to Palestinians Will Be Spent on 'Other Priorities'

A senior official from the US State Department announced that Washington will allocate the $200 million aid to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza for other priorities. According to Reuters, an unnamed senior official stated that the US aid program to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza was reviewed to determine whether these funds would be spent in line with US interests. He added that as a result of these reviews and under the guidance of our President, we will spend more than $200 million from the fiscal year 2017 elsewhere. These resources will be directed to areas that have higher priorities. Another official from the State Department told Reuters that we are working with Congress to redirect these resources to other priorities. However, this State Department official did not provide further details regarding these priorities. The Trump administration recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on December 6 of last year, changing seven decades of previous US policy, and on May 14 of this year, moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This decision faced protests from Palestinians and several countries. Palestinians, many countries around the world, and international organizations emphasize that East Jerusalem should be the capital of an independent Palestinian state. Donald Trump stated in his meeting last month with King Abdullah II of Jordan in Washington that if a historic peace between Israel and the Palestinians is not achieved during his administration, no other government in the US will be able to achieve this goal. The Trump administration has announced that it is finalizing a new plan to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians, which will be presented soon. The US President has referred to the peace agreement as the 'Deal of the Century' if achieved. The Palestine Liberation Organization also rejected Trump's recent statements last week in a statement, considering it an imposition of Israeli policies by the US on the Palestinians.