US President Donald Trump is expected today to stop US engagement with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and continue a halt to funding for the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, Reuters reports, quoting a White House official.
The move coincides with a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long been critical of UNRWA, accusing the agency of anti-Israel incitement and its staff of being “involved in terrorist activities against Israel”.
The United Nations and UNRWA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
During Trump’s first term in office, from 2017-2021, he also cut off funding for UNRWA, questioning its value, saying that Palestinians needed to agree to renew peace talks with Israel, and calling for unspecified reforms.
The first Trump administration also quit the 47-member UNHRC halfway through a three-year term over what it called chronic bias against Israel and a lack of reform. The US is not currently a member of the Geneva-based body. Under Democratic former President Joe Biden, the US was re-elected and served a 2022-2024 term.
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