Outgoing US Middle East envoy calls on donors to stop funding Palestine

Jason Greenblatt, outgoing US Middle East envoy, called on donor countries to halt their funding of Palestinians since no progress is being made towards a peaceful solution between Palestine and Israel.

In an opinion piece published on the Fox News website yesterday ahead of the bi-annual meeting Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) in New York to discuss international donor assistance for the Palestinians, he wrote: “Donor countries must ask themselves why they should keep struggling to raise money when everyone can plainly see the Hamas regime and the Palestinian Authority (PA) are squandering the opportunities that donor money provides for a better future for all Palestinians.”

This, he added, is because Hamas and the PA are not taking advantage of those funds to ensure a better future for Palestinians after pushing “Gaza to a state of utter desperation”.

READ: Gaza’s only pharmaceutical factory operates at just 20% capacity

A newly published United Nations report highlighted the urgency to resolve the continuing fiscal crisis faced by the PA and to support the Palestinian economy.

It also stated that the provision of humanitarian and development assistance to the Palestinians over the past year has prevented conflict in Gaza and improve people’s lives.

The US was previously one of the largest donors to the Palestinians and the PA, providing upward of half-a-billion dollars a year through the United Nations and other organsiation, but has withdrawn its funding over the last two years.

The 15-member AHLC committee includes representatives of the US, the PA and Israel, and has operated for the last 25 years.