On Tuesday, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees urged donor countries to speed up their funding to ensure that services continue after US President Donald Trump slashed funding to the organization.

Eleven countries have already taken steps to send their donations early, said Pierre Krähenbühl, commissioner general of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Germany, Russia, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark have already provided their complete annual donations, while Kuwait, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland have vowed to deliver the full funds "very soon."

Read more: What would Donald Trump ending US aid mean for Palestinians?

On Tuesday, Krähenbühl also made an emergency appeal for over $800 million (€645 million) to provide assistance to 5 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants in Gaza, the West Bank and Syria. The UNRWA provides food, water, shelter, medical assistance and educational programs.

"The agency's critical financial crisis following the reduction in US funds threatens our ability to deliver these vital services," Krähenbühl said.

The agency had a budget of over $1 billion last year, with the US contributing one-third of the total. In mid-January, the Trump administration announced that it would only give $60 million this year, coming up far below last year's $360 million.

Read more: Palestinian leaders seek to suspend recognition of Israel

Watch video 00:27 US President Donald Trump threatens to withhold more aid to Palestinians

UN decries 'political dimension' of US decision

Trump said that, in order to receive future aid, the UNRWA must undergo certain reforms and Palestinian leaders must keep up US-backed peace negotiations with Israel.

Krähenbühl said the agency had not yet received specifics about the reforms, adding that he believes the US decision was politically motivated and not based on the agency's performance.

Watch video 02:08 Share UNRWA - part of the entire refugee problem? Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2RMJB UNRWA - part of the entire refugee problem?

"It is very clear that the decision by the United States was not related to our performance," Krähenbühl told The Associated Press. "This has to be part of the debate that took place around Jerusalem."

The Trump administration controversially moved to recognize the city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in early December, sparking protests around the world.

Palestinians, who see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, froze ties with the Trump administration earlier this month, saying Washington could no longer be the main mediator in peace talks.

In his appeal for aid, Krähenbühl underscored the "imperative to preserve and ensure that humanitarian funding is preserved from politicization."

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Jerusalem, the city of David According to the Old Testament, David, king of the two partial kingdoms of Judah and Israel, won Jerusalem from the Jebusites around 1000 BC. He moved his seat of government to Jerusalem, making it the capital and religious center of his kingdom. The Bible says David's son Solomon built the first temple for Yahweh, the God of Israel. Jerusalem became the center of Judaism.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Under Persian rule The Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II (3rd from the left) conquered Jerusalem in 597 and again in 586 BC, as the Bible says. He took King Jehoiakim (5th from the right) and the Jewish upper class into captivity, sent them to Babylon and destroyed the temple. After Persian king Cyrus the Great seized Babylon, he allowed the exiled Jews to return home to Jerusalem and to rebuild their temple.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Under Roman and Byzantine rule The Roman Empire ruled Jerusalem from the year 63 AD. Resistance movements rapidly formed among the population, so that in 66 AD, the First Jewish–Roman War broke out. The war ended 4 years later, with a Roman victory and another destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The Romans and Byzantines ruled Palestine for approximately 600 years.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Conquest by the Arabs Over the course of the Islamic conquest of Greater Syria, Muslim armies also reached Palestine. By order of the Caliph Umar (in the picture), Jerusalem was besieged and captured in the year 637 AD. In the following era of Muslim rule, various, mutually hostile and religiously divided rulers presided over the city. Jerusalem was often besieged and changed hands several times.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history The Crusades From 1070 AD onward, the Muslim Seljuk rulers increasingly threatened the Christian world. Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade, which took Jerusalem in 1099 AD. Over a period of 200 years a total of nine crusades set out to conquer the city as it changed hands between Muslim and Christian rule. In 1244 AD the crusaders finally lost control of the city and it once again became Muslim.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history The Ottomans and the British After the conquest of Egypt and Arabia by the Ottomans, Jerusalem became the seat of an Ottoman administrative district in 1535 AD. In its first decades of Ottoman rule, the city saw a clear revival. With a British victory over Ottoman troops in 1917 AD, Palestine fell under British rule. Jerusalem went to the British without a fight.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history The divided city After World War II, the British gave up their Palestinian Mandate. The UN voted for a division of the country in order to create a home for the survivors of the Holocaust. Some Arab states then went to war against Israel and conquered part of Jerusalem. Until 1967, the city was divided into an Israeli west and a Jordanian east.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history East Jerusalem goes back to Israel In 1967, Israel waged the Six-Day War against Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Israel took control of the Sinai, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem. Israeli paratroopers gained access to the Old City and stood at the Wailing Wall for the first time since 1949. East Jerusalem is not officially annexed, but rather integrated into the administration.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Muslim pilgrimage to Israel Israel has not denied Muslims access to its holy places. The Temple Mount is under an autonomous Muslim administration; Muslims can enter, visit the Dome of the Rock and the adjacent Al-Aqsa mosque and pray there.

City of strife: Jerusalem's complex history Unresolved status Jerusalem remains to this day an obstacle to peace between Israel and Palestine. In 1980, Israel declared the whole city its "eternal and indivisible capital." After Jordan gave up its claim to the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1988, the state of Palestine was proclaimed. Palestine also declares, in theory, Jerusalem as its capital. Author: Ines Eisele



rs/jm (AP, AFP)