President Donald Trump is a man who is forthright in expressing his opinions. He does not believe in diplomatic niceties and in a way he has changed US foreign policy as no president before him. For decades the US has been funding the U.N. Relief and Works Agency which helps in the rehabilitation of Palestine Arab refugees. As per figures available the US funds almost 30% of the budget of the UNRWA. The World Israeli News has reported that the US has now withheld 65 million dollars out of a planned 130 million dollars aid for Palestine.
Peace process
Donald Trump in one of his tweets on New Year had castigated Pakistan for receiving 33 billion dollars in aid and returning the US largesse with lies and deceit. He had also taken the Palestine leadership to task for receiving millions of dollars in aid from the US and in return being ungrateful and not letting the Peace Process move forward.
US aid
There is more than a grain of truth in what Trump has stated. Despite millions of dollars being poured into the coffers of Palestine government, there has been no tangible movement forward to establish peace in the region. The state of Israel has not been recognized by almost all Arab Muslim states(except Egypt and Jordon).As pointed out by the Times of India the terrorist organizations like Hamas have continued targeting Israeli settlements with rockets and attacks on unarmed civilians has continued.
The US policy was based on the faulty premise that aid will temper the Palestine government and terrorist attacks will stop. They had also assumed that the Palestine leadership would recognize the right of the Israeli state and take the peace process forward.This has not happened, and a substantial portion of the US aid is given to families of terrorists killed while attacking Israeli settlements.
Even the so-called US allies Britain and France have failed to see the entire picture of the Middle East where extremism and anti-west and US sentiments abound.
Trump and funding
Donald Trump has many faults, and he is being pilloried for everything from the Russian connection to travel ban on Muslim extremists. However, this decision by Trump to stop partial funding of Palestine refugees through the UN is a welcome step and should have been taken decades back. The Palestine Arabs have been biting the hand that feeds them, as can be seen by the latest outburst of Mohammed Abbas the Palestine prime minister against the US and Trump.
