Sweeping new US cuts in humanitarian aid to Palestinians are already hitting hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable people, amid accusations that the Trump administration is using the issue to “blackmail” Palestinians into accepting a peace deal that critics say will favour Israel.
Fears of a wholesale withdrawal of US development assistance from Palestinians were fuelled by an opaque announcement on Friday suggesting that the US intended to redirect Palestinian aid to other “higher priorities”.
The statement follows a months-long freeze on promised funds from the main US government development organisation, USAid, to agencies on the ground, not least in Gaza.
One agency operating in the coastal enclave, Catholic Relief Services, said the withholding of this year’s US funding for its projects had seen the number of Palestinians it could support in Gaza – largely in food aid and employment assistance – drop from 150,000 to just 200 since January, forcing it to lay off most of its programme staff.
Other agencies hit by the cuts include Mercy Corps and International Medical Corps (IMC), who jointly provide a USAid-funded medical programme in Gaza.
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