New house foreign affairs head looks to resume US aid to Palestinians
Washington (QNN)- The new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said on Tuesday the US would look to resume aid to the Palestinians.
In an interview with AFP, Representative Gregory Meeks called for a fresh look at the Venezuelan crisis and vowed to use his role to press human rights concerns he said had been ignored under outgoing US President Donald Trump.
He said he would look to expand humanitarian aid including to the Palestinians after the staunchly pro-Israel Trump cut off nearly all funding to them, including contributions to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
“I’m a firm believer in the two-state solution, providing both parties with self-determination, because that’s the only way I believe that we can ensure a Jewish state of Israel that is viable and a peaceful Palestinian state, where they end up becoming interdependent in trade and other mechanisms,” Meeks said.
He added, “So we may need to restart the US assistance to Palestinian people, demonstrating that the United States is ready to lead again.”
“I think it’s important, working with the Biden administration, that we review and look at humanitarian areas of which we can find further dollars to show that we care about humanity.”
The Trump administration cut hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid to the Palestinian Authority after relations between Ramallah and Washington soured over the White House recognized Jerusalem as the capital of ‘Israel’ in December 6, 2017.
