David Bedein, Director.
Susannah George, AP Intelligence and National Security Correspondent, this week published a feature “Trump administration cuts aid funding for Palestinian refugees”*, which overlooked two vital issues.
First, that the US cutback to UNRWA was immediately covered by the other 67 nations who fund UNRWA.
The Center for Near East Policy Research, CFNEPR, contacted 44 nations who donate humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza through UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, to determine if any other donor nation had cut back on its donations to UNRWA. Every diplomatic legation that donates to UNRWA responded emphatically that they are not cutting back one penny from aid to UNRWA. Tabulating the responses from the diplomatic community, CFNEPR calculated that the 1.2 billion dollar UNRWA budget flows from the donor nations to UNRWA
This is the breakdown of donor funds to UNRWA from this past year:
https://www.unrwa.org/sites/default/files/overalldonor_ranking.pdf
Second, the AP correspondent did not deal with reasonable reforms which US asks of UNRWA:
- Cancellation of the new UNRWA war curriculum, based on Jihad, martyrdom and the “right of return by force of arms”, which have no place in UN education
- Ceasing paramilitary training in all UNRWA schools. UNRWA, a UN agency with a commitment to “peace education”, instead allows arms training on its premises.
- Insisting that UNRWA dismiss employees affiliated with Hamas, in accordance with laws on the books in the US, the UK, Canada, the EU and Australia which forbid aid to any agency that employs members of a terrorist organization.
- Allow resettlement of fourth and fifth generation refugees from the 1948 war, which UNRWA currently now blocks.
- Demand an audit of donor funds from 68 nations, address reports of wasted resources, and a flow of cash to the terror groups that have controlled UNRWA operations on Gaza there for the past 18 years