Church groups in the United States and Europe have begun a worldwide campaign in opposition to the latest last-minute decision by the Donald Trump administration to deny support to six Palestinian hospitals in East Jerusalem. The financial punishment falls within the efforts of the executive branch in the United States to pressure Palestinian negotiators.

Pauliina Parhiala, a representative of the World Lutheran Federation that runs Jerusalem’s August Victoria Hospital, told Al-Monitor that the decision to stop $25 million in aid — of which the largest parts, $11 million, were earmarked for Makassed and the Augusta Victoria hospitals each — came at the last moment. “We had a visit from USAID last week, and they said that a final decision about the release of the money will be made in the White House even though the money was already approved by Congress.”

Parhiala, a Finnish citizen, said that “friends throughout the United States had worked hard to ensure the funds for the six East Jerusalem hospitals were exempt from the Taylor Force Act that was passed last March by Congress and signed by the president to stop aid for Palestinians.” Parhiala told Al-Monitor that the approved funds were due to be released before the end of the current fiscal year, which expires September 30.

The 127-bed referral hospital provided chemotherapy treatment in 2017 to 21,434 patients; it also provided 19,836 dialysis sessions and 22,349 radiation sessions, mostly to patients from Gaza and the West Bank.