Trump threatens to cut off U.S. aid to Palestinian Authority

On New Year's Day, President Trump accused Pakistan of giving the United States "nothing but lies and deceit" despite receiving billions in aid, and on Tuesday, he followed up with a similar rebuke of the Palestinian Authority.

"It's not only Pakistan that we pay billions of dollars to for nothing, but also many other countries, and others," he tweeted. "As an example, we pay the Palestinians HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect. They don't even want to negotiate a long overdue peace treaty with Israel."

Trump made the controversial decision last month to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and on Tuesday he tweeted that "with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?" The United States gives about $300 million in aid every year to the Palestinian Authority, and $3.1 billion annually in military aid to Israel.

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