Trump Threatens to Cut the US Relief Fund into Palestine

Vice President Mike Pence stands behind President Donald Trump who holds a proclamation that he signed that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will move its embassy there, during a speech from the White House in Washington, United States, Wednesday (6/12). BETWEEN PHOTOS / REUTERS / Kevin Lamarque

President Trump says aid cuts because the US is rewarded by the Palestinian Authority after recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

US President Donald Trump has dramatically stepped up his conflict with the Palestinian leadership, threatening to reduce funding for the Palestinian Authority unless it is willing to engage in peace talks with the United States.

The Trump statement came after the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, told a news conference that the United States would cut funds to UNRWA (UN refugee agency for Palestine) unless the Palestinian Authority returned to the negotiating table.

The trumpeted expression of Trump is considered an angry and defensive admission following his attempt to reach a "final agreement" for Middle East peace has run aground after his controversial December recognition in Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Therefore, Trump attacked the Palestinian leadership through the threat of aid cuts.

Through his tweet, Trump said that the United States paid "the Palestinians hundreds of millions of dollars a year and received no honor or honor, they did not even postpone long negotiations ... a peace treaty with Israel."

He added: "We have taken Jerusalem, the hardest part of the negotiations, from the table, and Israel, for that, have to pay more, but with the Palestinians no longer wanting to speak peacefully, why should we make this great future payment to they?"

Trump's remarks came before a planned visit to Jerusalem by US vice-president, Mike Pence, next week - which was canceled in December - and which seems less likely.

Trump's tweet also seems to imply that he intends to extract the concession from Israel because of his confession of Jerusalem.

Trump's threat comes amid growing evidence of the movement of Palestinian society not only to boycott diplomatic relations with the US government but also to sever ties with NGOs receiving US funds.

Israel's deputy defense minister, Elli ben Dahan, welcomed Trump's comments. "At last the US president told the truth to the Palestinians that these Arabs have been deceiving the world for years ... If the Palestinians refuse to speak, we will benefit - the State of Israel will grow and the settlement project will grow.

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) accused Trump of "sabotaging" the peace process, saying that he "not only violated international law" but also "singularly destroyed the foundations of peace."

On Twitter, Trump also issued a threat to cut off foreign aid to an undetermined list of countries.

"It's not just Pakistan that we pay billions of dollars, but also many other countries, and so on," trumped January 1 cursed Pakistan for failing to take enough action to fight terror groups while receiving US aid. "No longer!"

Nikki Haley, had predicted Trump's previous warning on the security council. Haley said that the US president does not want to give any more money "until the Palestinians are willing to return to the negotiating table."