Israelis protest against UNRWA
Israelis protest against UNRWAYonatan Sindel/Flash90

US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order today (Monday), on his first day in office, that would halt all new US funding for UNRWA, the UN agency for the descendants of Palestinian Arab refugees, two Trump Administration officials told the Daily Mail.

The move would be part of an executive order halting US foreign aid that does not serve America's interests.

"The United States and American citizens have been some of the most generous people in the entire world," one policy adviser for Trump told the Mail. "But at this point, we have to understand that foreign policy is domestic policy, and if this is not aligned with our interests, then Uncle Sam should not be opening up his pocketbook any longer."

Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who served during the first trump Administration, reacted to the report by calling it a "great start" to the new administration.

Trump touched on the issue of American foreign aid during his inauguration address at the Capitol in Washington DC today, stating, "'Anybody who has eyes and has been paying attention knows that the US foreign aid industry and bureaucracy is not aligned with American interests."

'In many cases, it's antithetical to our values. It often destabilizes world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations, internal to and between countries," he added. "So now it is going to be the policy with the United States that no further aid will be issued that is not fully aligned with the president's foreign policy. And in addition to that, all foreign aid is immediately going to be subject to review, and no new funds will be distributed unless' approved by the Secretary of State, or someone he designates."

The US previously halted aid to UNRWA in 2018 during the first Trump Administration. This funding was resumed under the Biden Administration.

UNRWA has come under increased scrutiny since the October 7 massacre after it was proven that people it employed participated in the massacre and even the kidnapping of hostages and the holding of hostages in Gaza.