The new US pledge to
boost aid to Jordan by more than $1 billion over the next five years is
designed to assist Amman accept more Palestinian refugees and relieve
the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel, human rights lawyer and peace
activist says.
“It may be that the US might want to support Jordan to take in more
Palestinian refugees which would also relieve Israel to some extent,”
said Dan Kovalik, a critic of the US foreign policy.
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“Israel always seems to a reason for something that the US is doing in the Middle East,” Kovalik told Pres TV on Wednesday.
The United States agreed Wednesday to send aid worth over $1.2
billion a year for the next five years to Jordan despite US President
Donald Trump’s threats to punish countries that do not agree with US
policy in the Middle East.
Jordan voted in December to condemn Trump's decision to recognize
Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel's capital and criticized the Trump
administration for withholding millions of dollars in funding for
Palestinian refugees, many of whom live in Jordan.
Under the deal signed Wednesday in Amman by US Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, the US commits
to providing at least $750 million a year in economic support and $350
million in military aid.
The agreement to assist Jordan, from 2018 until 2022, boosts
Washington's aid package to the key American ally by $275 million a year
or $1.4 for the 5-year period.
Jordan is one of the world's largest recipients of American aid,
having received over $20 billion since 1951. The kingdom also relies
heavily on aid from the European Union and Saudi Arabia.
In recent years, Jordan’s economy has been battered by the conflicts
in neighboring Iraq and Syria and its public debt stands at around $35
billion.
With a large Palestinian population, Jordan is unhappy with Trump’s
decision to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital and move the
US embassy there.
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