PLO official: US pressures on PA include measures against salaries to terrorists
Headline: “Al-Agha praises the Palestinian resolve before the American pressures and extortion”
“The [Palestinian] People’s Party (i.e., a PLO faction) held processions yesterday [Feb. 12, 2018] in the cities of Gaza and Khan Yunis for the 36th anniversary of its establishment. They finished in a rally before the UN headquarters in Gaza, in protest over the American-Israeli policy that targets the Palestinian rights, including the attempt to eliminate UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East)… During the rally, many speeches were made, among them PLO Executive Committee member and Director of the [PLO] Department of Refugee Affairs Zakariya Al-Agha praised the Palestinian resolve before the American pressures and extortion… Al-Agha talked about how the American pressures on the Palestinians have escalated recently, including the closure of the PLO offices in the capital Washington in November 2017, the stopping of the annual aid that the US gives to the PA in order to force it to stop paying financial aid to the families of the Martyrs (Shahids) and prisoners, and the large cut in the participation of the US in the UNRWA budget. He added that it is clear that the deficit that exists every year in the UNRWA budget stems from political and not financial reasons, from an intention to eliminate UNRWA, the international witness to the Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel) of the Palestinian refugees.”
In early January 2018, the US froze two planned payments to UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) for more than $100 million, and the US administration spoke about the need to reexamine and conduct a reform of the UN body. This occurred after the PA refused to negotiate with Israel and cut diplomatic ties with America following US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Dec. 6, 2017.
“The [Palestinian] People’s Party (i.e., a PLO faction) held processions yesterday [Feb. 12, 2018] in the cities of Gaza and Khan Yunis for the 36th anniversary of its establishment. They finished in a rally before the UN headquarters in Gaza, in protest over the American-Israeli policy that targets the Palestinian rights, including the attempt to eliminate UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East)… During the rally, many speeches were made, among them PLO Executive Committee member and Director of the [PLO] Department of Refugee Affairs Zakariya Al-Agha praised the Palestinian resolve before the American pressures and extortion… Al-Agha talked about how the American pressures on the Palestinians have escalated recently, including the closure of the PLO offices in the capital Washington in November 2017, the stopping of the annual aid that the US gives to the PA in order to force it to stop paying financial aid to the families of the Martyrs (Shahids) and prisoners, and the large cut in the participation of the US in the UNRWA budget. He added that it is clear that the deficit that exists every year in the UNRWA budget stems from political and not financial reasons, from an intention to eliminate UNRWA, the international witness to the Nakba (i.e., “the catastrophe,” Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel) of the Palestinian refugees.”
In early January 2018, the US froze two planned payments to UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) for more than $100 million, and the US administration spoke about the need to reexamine and conduct a reform of the UN body. This occurred after the PA refused to negotiate with Israel and cut diplomatic ties with America following US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Dec. 6, 2017.