Palestine government denies receiving US aid

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestinian authorities on Friday denied having received any aid from the U.S.

At a press conference Palestinian Spokesman Ibrahim Melhem while briefings about measures taken to combat the coronavirus of COVID-19 pandemic said there has been no contact with the U.S government.

He said the Palestinian government did not need any U.S. aid. Official spokesperson, however, expressed appreciation to the American people and to the U.S. institutions that support Palestinian rights.

He was reacting to the statement of the U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman who said that the U.S. was providing $5 million to the Palestinian Authority to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

According to the U.S.-based John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre, West Bank and Gaza have so far reported 402 infections and two deaths. This includes 95 infections in eastern Jerusalem.

In 2018, the Trump administration had cut financial aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and also slashed an aid of more than $200 million to Palestine in the same year.

Amid Arab and International rejection, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his so-called “Deal of the Century” in January to end one of the longest-running disputes in the world.

He proposed a patchwork Palestinian state boxed in by illegal Israeli settlements as well as recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank and to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's undivided capital.