The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has ceased all assistance to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, a U.S. official said on Friday. The deadline also sees the end of about $60 million in U.S. aid for the Palestinian security forces, whose cooperation with Israeli forces helps maintain relative quiet in the West Bank. “All USAID assistance in the West Bank and Gaza has ceased.”It was unclear how long the cessation would be in effect. Last year Washington cut hundreds of millions of dollars of aid to the Palestinians, which included funding to humanitarian groups supported by USAID. In January the World Food Programme cut food aid to about 190,000 Palestinians due to a shortage of funds.

Source: National Post February 01, 2019 15:06 UTC