U.S. Is Said to Delay Payment for Palestinians After Trump Tweet

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. has delayed paying about $125 million to the United Nations agency that serves Palestinian refugees, said two people familiar with the matter, after President Donald Trump vented his frustration about getting no “respect” or help in the peace process despite American funding.

The U.S., by far the biggest contributor to the UN Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, had been expected to deliver the payment on Jan. 2. But Secretary of State Rex Tillerson put a hold on the funds while the administration reviews its next steps, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.

The delay could be purely symbolic, since the U.S. has a few more weeks before it must make the payment. But the delay is a break from past practice, when such funds were delivered promptly at the start of the year.

Trump tweeted on Jan. 2 that the U.S. pays the Palestinians “HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year” and gets “no appreciation or respect” in return. Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, later told reporters the administration would cut off aid if the Palestinians refused to take part in peace talks with Israel.

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Haley and the administration were also angered by action at the UN General Assembly in December, in which member states voted 128-9 to condemn Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv.

Most nations view the status of Jerusalem, parts of which are claimed by the Palestinians, as an issue to be determined in final peace negotiations. Palestinians officials said Trump's move disqualified the U.S. from being a mediator in any Israel-Palestinian negotiations.

Trump's threat against UNRWA funding was popular in Israel, even though government security officials warned that it could fuel violence and strengthen radical Palestinian forces in the West Bank, said Jonathan Rynhold, director of Bar Ilan University's Argov Center for the Study of Israel and the Jewish People.

“Public opinion does not think three moves ahead in strategic terms,” Rynold said. “It appreciates the immediate symbolism of the U.S. taking Israel's side versus the Palestinians.”

The UN established UNRWA in 1949 to help Palestinian refugees, and it now assists millions of people, chiefly through educational and health services. It isn't associated with the Palestinian government and doesn't take part in peace negotiations with Israel.

--With assistance from Jonathan Ferziger

To contact the reporter on this story: Nick Wadhams in Washington at nwadhams@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny

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