UN food program announces service cuts to Palestinians The United Nations' World Food Program says it will be cutting services to nearly 200,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip due to a lack of funding

JERUSALEM -- The United Nations' World Food Program says it will be cutting services to nearly 200,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip due to a lack of funding.

The WFP said in a statement Wednesday it needs another $57 million to continue providing for 360,000 impoverished Palestinians in 2019.

Of those affected by the budget shortages, 27,000 Palestinians in the West Bank will lose food service, and another 166,000 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will receive reduced services.

Raphael du Boispean, a WFP spokesman, attributed the crisis to the "recurrent problem" of declining donations.

The Palestinians have faced major budget cuts this year after the United States slashed funding for the U.N.'s Palestinian refugee program UNRWA and for USAID programs in the Palestinian territories.