US President Donald Trump's administration has cut more than $200 million in aid to Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the US State Department said on Friday.

This comes months after the US cut funds to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

“At the direction of President Trump, we have undertaken a review of U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with U.S. national interests and provide value to the U.S. taxpayer," the department said. "As a result of that review, at the direction of the president, we will redirect more than $200 million ... originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza."

"This decision takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza's citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation," the notice said, without providing additional details.

Palestinian Ambassador to the US, Husam Zomlot, considered the US decision as "political blackmail," one which proves that the US administration is "hostile to peace."

"This administration is undermining decades of American vision and commitment in Palestine," Zomot said in a statement. “Following their decisions regarding Jerusalem and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), this step affirms the abandonment of the two-state solution and its full adoption of the anti-peace agenda of PM Benjamin Netanyahu.”

Zomlot added that "the use of humanitarian and development assistance as a weapon of political blackmail will fail.”

The crisis between the US and the Palestinian Authority (PA) began when Trump decreased the US aid dedicated to UNRWA by $350 million in January, following the PA’s refusal to meet US Vice President Mike Pence during his trip to the region at the time.