Saudi Arabia pledges $50m to UN Palestinian refugee agency

Palestinian pupils protest in front of a school administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)and financed by US aid, in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus in the occupied West Bank on September 25, 2018. (File/AFP)

• Saudi Arabia has pledged $50 million to UNRWA which has been hit by the withdrawal of all US funding
• The announcement was made at a press conference in the Saudi capital

Saudi Arabia has pledged on Wednesday $50 million to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which has been hit by the withdrawal of all US funding, an official said.
The announcement was made at a press conference in the Saudi capital by the director of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, Abdullah al-Rabeea.

Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump cut aid for Palestinians and announced it would no longer provide any funding to UNRWA, a week after cutting over $200 million in separate aid to Palestinians.
They were the latest in a series of controversial moves by the Trump administration that have thrilled Israel’s government but caused shock and dismay among international powers and Palestinians, making their dream of an independent state more distant than ever.