Public Security and Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) responded on Thursday evening to a television news report claiming that Israel's Foreign Ministry opposes U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to halt aid to UNRWA, the UN’s agency for “Palestinian refugees”.

“I find it difficult to believe that the Israeli Foreign Ministry opposes a cut in funding to UNRWA. The same body that perpetuates the refugee problem instead of solving it and which aids terror in all kinds of proven ways? The Foreign Ministry is against cuts to this body? I hope very much that this is not true,” tweeted Erdan.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, on Tuesday included UNRWA in warning the Palestinian Authority (PA) it risked losing the hundreds of millions of dollars in aid it receives from the United States if it continues to shun peace negotiations.

Hours later, President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that the PA does not show the United States appreciation or respect, hinting that due to this fact, it does not deserve the large amounts of aid it received from the U.S. annually.

Thursday’s report on Hahadashot (formerly Channel 2 News) said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly opposes the cessation of aid to UNRWA, arguing that such a move "could worsen the humanitarian situation and lead to a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza." This opinion is seconded by the senior members of the IDF and the security establishment, who note the upsurge in rocket launches from Gaza recently and warn that these cuts could cause the Hamas-controlled territory to explode.

The report also said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been holding back-channel talks with the Trump administration in an attempt to restore U.S. aid to UNRWA. If accurate, this would contradict Netanyahu's public statements calling on countries around the world to cease funding UNRWA, which has been a source of many anti-Israel resolutions.

For years, UNRWA has been a target for criticism in light of Hamas's activity in its educational institutions and the use of its facilities by Palestinian Arab terrorist organizations in Gaza.

UNRWA was documented storing Hamas rockets and weapons "designed to kill Israeli citizens" in its schools, a fact which the UNRWA chief admitted himself.

In addition, the organization has actively taken part in inciting anti-Semitic violence.