LOC01:22
22:22 GMT
WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (KUNA) -- The US froze USD 65 million until "future consideration" that would go to the United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
"(USD) 65 million, that is money that will be held for future consideration. It's money that's being frozen at this time. It's not being canceled. It's just being held for future consideration," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters on Tuesday.
The US would like to "see some revisions made in how UNRWA operates. One of our bureaus has a formal oversight role with UNRWA. We have people on the ground who take a look at some of the UNRWA activities and how the money is being spent," she added.
The US committed a contribution of USD 60 million which "is going to sustain schools and health services to ensure that teachers and also health care providers can be paid their salaries," Nauert said.
"One of the reasons we decided to do this is that we felt that not providing that money would run the risk of having the organization and the people there run out of funds, and that those entities would have to be potentially closed down," the spokesperson noted. (end)
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