US has assured multiple Mideast countries that aid will resume after review

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Trump administration makes assurances as order to pause most foreign assistance has recipients scrambling to determine if they’ll receive anything when 90-day hold expires

By Jacob Magid 

Today, 4:52 am

A Palestinian pupil walks past United Nations Relief and Works Agency, (UNRWA) and USAID humanitarian aid, on June 6, 2010 in the Shatie refugee camp in Gaza City. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

A Palestinian pupil walks past United Nations Relief and Works Agency, (UNRWA) and USAID humanitarian aid, on June 6, 2010 in the Shatie refugee camp in Gaza City. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has provided assurances to multiple countries in the Middle East that the freeze placed on aid assistance from the United States will be lifted in the coming months, two US officials told The Times of Israel.

On Friday, the State Department put a hold on almost all US foreign assistance, making exceptions for emergency humanitarian food programs along with military aid to Israel and Egypt.

The freeze is slated to last 90 days, during which the State Department will review all existing aid programs and determine whether they are in line with the Trump administration’s foreign policy agenda.

The decision by the State Department followed an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump on his first day in office asserting that the “foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values.”

“Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement confirming the implementation of the foreign aid freeze.

The move has left many governments alarmed and rushing to determine whether their US assistance will resume as it was before the pause, be reduced or be cut completely.

US President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, January 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Some administration officials have been working to assure certain US allies that their assistance will resume at the conclusion of the review, one US official said, adding that those receiving such commitments include governments in the Middle East.

The State Department declined a request for comment on the matter.

In the Mideast, Jordan is chief among countries most concerned by the US decision. Amman is one of the largest recipients of US aid, taking in $1.7 billion annually. Palestinians in the West Bank receive millions of dollars in US assistance, though much of that is through UNRWA, which Washington stopped funding last year and was almost certain to never resume bankrolling anyway.

Leading aid organizations have been interpreting the State Department directive as an immediate stop-work order for US-funded humanitarian work globally, leading them to cease operations immediately so as not to incur more costs.

Content retrieved from: https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-has-assured-multiple-mideast-countries-that-aid-freeze-to-be-lifted-after-review/.

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