By Aaron Miller-
The U.S is to give $5 million to the Palestinians in a bid to assist their fight against the coronavirus epidemic, a U.S. envoy said on Thursday.
The surprise donation announced by U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman (pictured)follows years of aid cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration to the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza
“I’m very pleased the USA is providing $5M for Palestinian hospitals and households to meet immediate, life-saving needs in combating COVID-19,” Friedman wrote on Twitter.
“The USA, as the world’s top humanitarian aid donor, is committed to assisting the Palestinian people,” he added.
The $5 million will be international disaster assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development, according to the State Department’s website says. It is a surreal development in light of the fact that since 2018 , the Trump administration has cut hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinians since 2018 in order to pressure them to the negotiating table in peace talks with Israel.
However, Trumps calls to negotiation has been rebuffed by the Palestinians who consider the U.S president’s peace efforts to be biased and pro-Israel bias after he declared Jerusalem Israel’s capital and subsequently moved the American embassy there. They will have no complaints about the latest aid donation.