Statement on Trump Administration Ending All Funding For Palestinian Refugees

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, released the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s decision to end funding for more than five million Palestinian refugees receiving support through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA):

“The Trump Administration continues to undermine the peace process and move us further away from the possibility of a two-state solution. Ending U.S. funding, especially against the recommendation of Israeli defense officials, will be devastating to the lives of millions of Palestinians – 526,000 of which are students in UNRWA schools.  It will also strengthen Hamas’ hand and increase instability in a region already reeling from wars and humanitarian crises. The Administration has deeply compromised the U.S. role as a broker of peace, and that should worry all of us who care about Israel and the Palestinians.”      

Senator Kaine recently spoke out against the President’s prior decision to cut $200 million in humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank.