Trump Withdraws US from UN Human Rights Council Again, Cuts UNRWA Funding, and Proposes Gaza Reconstruction Under American Control
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticised the United Nations for ‘mismanagement’, although he said it has potential. At the same time, he suspended US cooperation with the UN Human Rights Council and extended the ban on funding for the Palestinian aid agency UNRWA. Also, according to him, Washington intends to reconsider its participation in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
At the same time, Trump said that the UN has ‘tremendous potential’ but is ‘poorly managed’.
‘Everybody should be funding it, but we're funding it disproportionately, as it always seems to be,’ he said.
White House Secretary of State Will Scharf spoke of an ‘anti-American bias’ in UN agencies.
‘More broadly, the executive order calls for a review of American participation and funding at the UN in light of the wild differences and levels of funding between different countries,’ Scharf said.
The United States also wants to take control of the Gaza Strip, ‘rebuild’ it and establish ‘economic development’ in the enclave.
This was stated by US President Donald Trump during a briefing with the Israeli Prime Minister in Washington.
Trump said that Gaza ‘has been a symbol of death and destruction for decades’ and should not go through the process of being occupied by people ‘who have lived a miserable existence there.’
Trump said that the United States will ‘take control of Gaza’ and do ‘our own thing’ with it. He says he wants to ‘level’ Gaza and ‘get rid of the destroyed buildings’ left by the Israeli army's bombing in response to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas' attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which resulted in hundreds of civilian hostages and thousands of Israelis killed.
On 15 January 2025, Israel and Hamas signed a ceasefire agreement, which came into effect on 19 January 2025. The agreement consists of three successive stages. The first stage involves a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip and the release of some hostages. The second stage will include further hostage releases and the full withdrawal of troops, and the third stage will see the start of Gaza's reconstruction.