A man in a protective suit is seen walking in the West Bank town of Beit Jala, amid the coronavirus outbreak, March 7, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Mussa Qawasma.

The United States is giving $5 million to the Palestinians to help them fight the coronavirus epidemic, an American envoy said on Thursday.

The donation announced by US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman follows years of aid cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration to the Palestinians.

“I’m very pleased the USA is providing $5M for Palestinian hospitals and households to meet immediate, life-saving needs in combating COVID-19,” Friedman wrote on Twitter.

“The USA, as the world’s top humanitarian aid donor, is committed to assisting the Palestinian people,” he added.

I'm very pleased the USA is providing $5M for Palestinian hospitals and households to meet immediate, life-saving needs in combating COVID-19. The USA, as the world’s top humanitarian aid donor, is committed to assisting the Palestinian people, & others worldwide, in this crisis.

— David M. Friedman (@USAmbIsrael) April 16, 2020

The $5 million will be international disaster assistance from the US Agency for International Development, according to the State Department’s website.

There was no immediate comment from the Palestinians.

The Trump administration since 2018 has cut hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinians. The cuts have largely been seen as a bid to pressure them back to the negotiating table in peace talks with Israel.

The Palestinians have boycotted Trump’s peace efforts since 2017, accusing him of pro-Israel bias after he declared Jerusalem Israel‘s capital and later moved the American embassy there from Tel Aviv.

Trump released his Middle East peace plan in January. Israel embraced it, while the Palestinians rejected it out of hand.

There have been nearly 300 confirmed cases of the coronavirus among Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with two deaths.