Palestinians in Ramallah and Gaza protested against the US decision to cut United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) funding.
Protesters in the West Bank reportedly burnt pictures of US President Donald Trump, however, no significant violence was reported.
Hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside America House in Ramallah and UN headquarters in Gaza, where demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and condemned longstanding US policies on Palestine.
Speaking at the protest, Esam Abu Baker, a representative of the National Forces in Ramallah, said the US presence in the West Bank was “unwelcome.”
“We’re here today to affirm our right to return [to pre-1948 Palestine] and demand that UNRWA continue its activities until the refugee issue is resolved based on international resolutions,” Abu Baker said.
He accused the US of harboring a pro-Israel bias and seeking to destroy the cause of Palestinian refugees displaced from their homes in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.
"The US is trying to play the role of the occupation by halting the funding of the agency as the first step of ending the right of return," he stressed.
Established in 1949, UNRWA provides critical aid to Palestinian refugees in the blockaded Gaza Strip, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Last week, the US announced that Washington would “no longer commit funding” to UNRWA.
The US was so far UNRWA's largest contributor, providing it with $350 million annually, roughly one-quarter of the agency's overall budget.
The US move is part of a wider plan to end the right of return and reduce the number of Palestinian refugees from five million to 40,000.
Washington said it will recognize the 700,000 refugees who were expelled from or fled their homes in 1948 and will not recognize their children or grandchildren as refugees.
However, the Palestinians, the UN, the Arab League and the EU rejected the US decision, condemned it and pledged to help the UN agency.
