WASHINGTON, January 19, 2018 (WAFA) - The United States announced that it will not provide  $45 million in food aid for Palestinians that it pledged last month as part of occupied Palestinian territory Emergency Appeal led by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Thursday said the US Department on Thursday.

On January 16, the US government announced a contribution of $60 million in support of UNRWA programs, less than half of what is has previously paid at the start of the year. The move is seen as pressure on the Palestinian Authority to return to the negotiating table with Israel.

US contributions in 2017 were more than $350 million, making it the highest contributor to the UN agency.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert denied in a statement that the withholding of the $65 million was to punish Palestinians, who sharply criticized President Donald Trump‘s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on December 6.

"At this time, we will not be providing that, but that does not mean - I want to make it clear - that does not mean that it will not be provided in the future," she said.

Nauert added, "money coming in from other countries needs to increase as well to continue paying for all those refugees."

"Fundamentally, we just don‘t believe that we have to be the chief donor to every organization around the world," she said.

On December 15,  UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl received a letter from State Department Comptroller Eric Hembree, in which the US pledged $45 million to the West Bank and Gaza Emergency Appeal.

T.R.