Doubling Australian aid to UNRWA: A VITAL PERSPECTIVE,

The Australian government has announced that it will double to its aid to UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which the UN created as a “temporary” entity in the wake of the Israel War of Independence, to help half a million Arabs displaced as a result of these hostilities.

Seventy-three years later, in texts taught in the UNRWA schools, Israel does not exist and is replaced by an entity known as “Palestine.”

In its defense, UNRWA claims that it has a robust system in place to ensure that the education it delivers in its classroom, including through the use of textbooks, is in line with UN values and principles.

As a journalist who has commissioned experts to examine 1000 books used in UNRWA schools in the West Bank and Gaza since their first appearance in 2000, I beg to differ.

UNRWA “education” is instead based on:

  1. De-legitimization of both the existence of the State of Israel and the Jews’ very presence in the country. Israel does not appear on the map and is replaced by Palestine as the sovereign state in the region. The Jews are presented as colonialist settlers and their cities — including Tel Aviv — do not appear on the map as well. The Jews’ holy places in the country are not recognized as such but rather presented as Muslim holy places usurped by the Jews (the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem).
  2. Massive demonization of both Israel and the Jews, with the latter being presented as enemies of Islam since its very beginning. Israel is depicted as an entirely evil entity with exclusive responsibility for the conflict while the Palestinians are portrayed as the ultimate victim. No objective information is given by UNRWA about Israel and the Jews that would balance this picture even slightly. Nor is there any reference in the books to Jewish-Israeli individuals as ordinary human beings. Rather, they are dealt with as a group, with the accompanying connotations of alienation and existential threat to the Palestinians.
  3. Absence of education for peace and coexistence with Israel. Instead, the books feature a call for a violent struggle for “the liberation of Palestine”.

All this begs the question: Will UNRWA continue to confine millions of these descendents of 1948 refugees to the indignity of life in 59 “temporary” refugee facilities for yet another 70 years?

While UNRWA acts under the aegis of the UN General Assembly, which will never allow a change in the UNRWA mandate to keep Arab refugees in refugee perpetuity, nothing prevents UNRWA donors such as the US from adopting policies that would solve the plight of five million people confined to the indignity of refugee life for perpetuity. In that context, the US could lead the 67 UNRWA donations to make the following reasonable conditions to renew aid to UNRWA:

  1. Cancel the new UNRWA curriculum, based on Jihad, martyrdom and the “right of return by force of arms”, which have no place in UN education, whose theme is “Peace Begins Here”. UNRWA contracts for exclusive use of Palestinian Authority schoolbooks in Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem and Gaza. Like all UN agencies, UNRWA is supposed to run schools based on the UN slogan “Peace Begins Here.” PA education, however, runs schools based on the ideology of the Palestine Liberation Organization: Conquest of Palestine by force of arms. The time has come for UNRWA donor nations, beginning with the US, ask for a cancelation of that UNRWA-PA contract.
  2. Cease paramilitary training in all UNRWA schools, an absurdity that our news agency and think tank has filmed and documented and shared with all UNRWA donor nations.
  3. Insist that UNRWA dismiss employees affiliated with Hamas- in accordance with laws on the books in western nations that forbid aid to any agency that employs members of a terrorist organization.
  4. Demand that UNRWA advance resettlement of fourth and fifth generation refugees from the 1948 war, who have spent seven decades relegated to the indignity of refugee status, passed down from one generation to another.
  5. Facilitate an audit of $1.5 billion donor funds that emanate from 67 nations, much of it in cash, which has resulted in wasted resources, duplication of services and an undesired flow of cash to the UNRWA-based terror groups that have dominated UNRWA operations for years.

*DAVID BEDEIN HAS COVERED UNRWA, SINCE HE PIONEERED AN INDEPENDENT NEWS AGENCY AND THINK TANK IN JERUSALEM IN DECEMBER 1987.

WITH UNRWA AS HIS NEWS FOCUS, DAVID HAS PRODUCED 24 FILMS SHOT ON LOCATION IN THE UNRWA REFUGEE CAMPS, AUTHORED TWO BOOKS ALONG WITH HUNDREDS OF IN-DEPTH ARTICLES THAT APPEAR ON HIS WEBSITES, UNRWA-MONITOR.COM AND ISRAELBEHINDTHENEWS.COM

HOLDING A MASTER’S DEGREE IN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION SOCIAL WORK FROM YESHIVA UNIVERSITY, IN 1980, DAVID HAS MADE NUMEROUS PRESENTATIONS ABOUT UNRWA FOR THE US CONGRESS, THE CANADIAN PARLIAMENT, THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT, THE SWEDISH PARLIAMENT AND THE GERMAN BUNDESTAG, WITH ONE PURPOSE IN MIND: UNRWA POLICY REFORM. https://israelbehindthenews.com/2018/02/06/david-bedein-leading-fight-unrwa-reform-initiative/

David is now producing  a  new movie about UNRWA policy, shot on location at UNRWA refugee  facilities in Jerusalem and in Gaza, for presentation  at the UN, at the Knesset and at the Parliaments of  leading UNRWA donor nations. 

Funds needed to produce and promote the new UNRWA documentary. 

Donations can be contributed in any currency towards that goal. https://israelbehindthenews.com/donations/

 

*ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Bedein, who grew up in Philadelphia and moved to Israel in 1970 at the age of 20, is an MSW community organizer by profession and an investigative journalist by avocation. In 1987 David established the Israel Resource News Agency, with offices at the Beit Agron Int’l Press Center in Jerusalem, where he also serves as Director of the Center for Near East Policy Research. In 1991, Bedein was the special CNN middle east radio correspondent. Since 2001, Bedein has contributed features to the newspaper Makor Rishon. In 2006, Bedein became the foreign correspondent for the Philadelphia Bulletin, writing 1,062 articles until the newspaper ceased operation in 2010. He is the author of ” The Genesis of the Palestinian Authority” and “ROADBLOCK TO PEACE- How the UN Perpetuates the Arab-Israeli Conflict: UNRWA policies reconsidered” and has produces twenty  short films about UNRWA policy- shot on location- which can be viewed at: http://tinyurl.com/lxc6xvs

A political ploy to curb free speech

In an act of chutzpah characteristic of the Israeli left, Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid Party has petitioned the Central Elections Committee (CEC) to declare Channel 14 a “propaganda platform” for Likud, headed by opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to the petition, submitted to the CEC on Wednesday by Economy and Industry Minister Orna Barbivai and Energy Minister Karine Elharrar, the right-wing news outlet, owned by billionaire Yitzchak Mirilashvili, “is a real threat to the basic principles” of Israeli elections, as it is “fully harnessed in favor of a candidate and a party, without balance and contrary to every standard of reasonableness, fairness and common sense.”

Click here to read full article. 

What the public at large has a right to know before the Nov. 1 elections

What is Not Generally Known to the Public in IsraeL, one month before elections:

The Palestinian Security Forces (PSF), trained by the IDF, now carry out daily attacks against Jews through its PSF elite unit known as the Al Aqsa Brigades.

Yet the government of Israel continues full security cooperation with the PSF . (1)

With the knowledge of the government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority has enacted unprecedented legislation to provide a salary for life for anyone who murders a Jew. (2)

People in Israel know that the PA often pays killers.

Few know that there is a law in this regard.

The government of Israel has never asked for the repeal of this PA law, which functions as an incentive to kill.

Instead, The government of Israeli reduces allocations to the PA according to the amount that the PA pays convicted killers, while allowing Saudi Arabia, Qatar & other nations to fill in the cash flow gap for convicted felons.

With the full knowledge of the government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority has fostered a new school curriculum which indoctrinates children to make war on the Jews.(3)ADVERTISEMENT

The government of Israel could veto that curriculum, yet does not use its authority to do so.

The government of Israel will not even demand that the PA remove a new PA textbook which presents Dalal Al Mugrabi, who murdered 35 Jews, including 12 children, as a role model for the next generation (4)

UNRWA allocates a $1.6 billion budget to maintain 6.7 million descendants of Arab refugees in 59 “temporary” refugee camps, as refugees for perpetuity, while inculcating the “right of return” to villages which existed before 1948. COGAT, the Israel Civil Administration, which oversees UNRWA, will not ask for any change in UNRWA policy (5)

Meanwhile, PA texts used by UNRWA now provide 120 new maps in UNRWA
schools which replace any Jewish presence with Arabic names –on both sides of the 1967 line- a new form of Judenrein. (6)ADVERTISEMENT

The government of Israel could order COGAT to stop distribution of these maps.

Israel could demand that the PA and UNRWA use standard world maps in their schools that depict the geographic details of each member state of the UN, including Israel.

Yet the current government of Israel will not make that demand.

Instead, the government of Israel encourages Israel business interests to invest in the Palestinian Authority, yet without vetting terror connections of their PA business partners. (7)

All this occurs, without beginning to mention the Arab encroachments in area C of Judea and Samaria that Regavim has documented so meticulously, while the government of Israel allows this to occur.
https://www.regavim.org/


1. https://israelbehindthenews.com/2011/05/05/dangers-us-aid-palestinian-security-forces-2/

2. https://israelbehindthenews.com/2017/01/11/incentivizing-terrorism-palestinian-authority-allocations-terrorists-families/

3. https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/?s=GROISS

4. https://israelbehindthenews.com/2021/11/30/dalal-al-mughrabi-a-murderous-terrorist-as-a-role-model-in-palestinian-authority-schoolbooks-used-by-unrwa-2/

5. https://israelbehindthenews.com/2019/04/02/six-policy-challenges-to-guide-unrwa-policy-reform/

6. https://israelbehindthenews.com/2022/09/24/revealing-maps-the-palestinian-vision-as-taught-in-unrwa-schools/

7,. https://israelbehindthenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Proposed-investigation-of-Israeli-Corporate-Corruption.pdf

Palestinian arabs are still actively fighting the 1947-9 war against the Jewish state

The president of the Palestinian Authority always fails to impress at the annual United Nations General Assembly forum. This year, he outdid himself in spectacular fashion, showcasing why there is no chance for peace anytime soon.

The 48 minute ramble was a disgrace from beginning to end. It is not worth a detailed review of the spouted delusions, but a summary is important to consider the mental and emotional state of this restless people. In short, Abbas believes the world is stuck with him in 1947; deems the Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the PA dead; considers Israelis as racist terrorists; and glorifies terrorists openly.

Abbas Now Accepts the 1947 UN Partition Plan

Abbas said that Israel has been colonizing Palestine for 75 years, since its very founding. He built on his term for Israel of a “painful historic settlement“, illegal as far as he is concerned for the past 100 years, not only since 1967.

He demanded that the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel apologize for the 1917 Balfour Declaration, the 1922 Mandate of Palestine, and the entire Zionist enterprise. He put it forward as an “official request” for the “major crime” and sought remedy and compensation.

Abbas also asked the entire UN to enforce Resolution 181 (@25:30). That resolution was the partition plan put forward in November 1947, which was accepted by Zionists but rejected by the entire Arab world, opting instead for war to destroy the Jews. Abbas said with a pointed finger, “Resolution 181 which you have adopted. Resolution 181 is the resolution that we want to be implemented. We want you to implement Resolution 181.”

It boggles the mind how the party which rejected the resolution – 75 years ago! – launched a war which killed one percent of the Israeli population – just a few years after the European Holocaust! – can somehow state that it has changed his mind. If the Arabs had known then that they’d lose the war and more territory, they might have accepted the plan.

Should Abbas figure out how to bring back the thousands of Jews murdered by Arabs over the past 75 years, I’m sure Israel would agree to go back to the borders proposed by the UN in 1947.

Oslo Accords Are Dead

Abbas made clear that he considers the Oslo Accords of 1993 (and 1995) to be dead, as he mistakenly believes that Israel tramples on the accords and only the Palestinians abide by them.

Somehow the multi-year 2000-2004 intifada-terrorism didn’t register in Abbas’ memory. The several wars from Hamas since the terrorist-political group took over Gaza, with over 20,000 rockets fired into Israel, did not trample on the accords. Israel giving the PA Areas A and B and the Gaza Strip was completely ignored.

Did Abbas even read the accords? Nowhere does it say that Israel cannot build homes for Jews in Area C. It says exactly the opposite, that Israel has sole control of the region until it gives more territory to the PA.

One of the conditions of the accords was that the PA would not seek recognition at any UN bodies – which it nevertheless did. Abbas said that the PA will now seek admission to even more organizations.

If Abbas truly wants to end the relationship with Israel established with the Accords, he must realize that he is inviting Israel to take back all of the land that was given to the PA under those same agreements.

Abbas Smears Israelis As Racist Terrorist

Abbas attacked Israel at 12:26, saying “Israel is enacting racist laws, consecrating the apartheid regime. Yes, apartheid, and if they do not like the appellation, this is the truth. They are an apartheid regime.” It was quite a comment, after Abbas had just said at 7:43 of the speech that “Israel did not leave us any land on which we can establish an independent state, in the frame of its frantic expansion. Where will our people live in freedom and dignity? Where can we build our independent state that will live in peace with its neighbors? We want to live in peace with them, with Israel. The settlements unfortunately constitute 751,000 [Jews], or 25% of the total population. 25 percent in the West Bank. The Palestinian land which remains for us. Israel is killing our people with impunity.”

Doesn’t Abbas realize that 26% of Israel’s population is not Jewish? If he believes that so many Jews possibly living in a new Palestinian State prevents Arabs from living in freedom and dignity, how does he possibly suggest Israel take in millions of Arab refugees when the country is only 74% Jewish now? How does he accuse Israel of being an apartheid regime when so many Arabs have full citizenship? Does Abbas blush at his hypocrisy as he demands a new country free of Jews and has existing laws against selling any land to Jews?

To make sure that the entire world and not just Israel was disgusted by his charges, Abbas doubled down on his heinous comment of a few weeks ago in Berlin, Germany when he accused Israel of committing “50 Holocausts” against Palestinians. At 16:30 of his rant Abbas said that “Israel has committed more than 50 massacres since 1948 until today.” The disgusting charge was clearly intended to simultaneously satisfy his Palestinian Arab constituents and repulse the civilized world.

Abbas Glorifies Terrorists

After the long an rambling tirade meant to insult Israel in every manner possible, Abbas wrapped up his speech glorifying Arabs who killed Israelis, and promised that the Palestinian Authority will forever support the terrorists’ families.

For the last seven minutes of his speech, starting at 41:30, Abbas declared that no foreign body can dictate anything to the PA and they will do whatever they choose. (This comment, after demanding the UN and other countries place pressure on Israel.) He used that lead-in to say that he supports the martyrs and prisoners who are Palestinian heroes. They will get the full support of the PA, in the much criticized “pay-to-slay” program, which the world has rightly condemned as funding terror.

Abbas flipped the bird to the world and said he didn’t care.

Abbas specifically singled out Nasser Abu Hamid as a “martyr” and “a hero” several times. Hamid was convicted in 1990 by Israel of killing five people but he was released as part of the Oslo Accords. In the Second Intifada-terrorism wave, Hamid began killing again. He confessed to killing seven people in five attacks between 2000 and 2002, including the infamous lynching and desecration of the bodies of IDF Corporal Vadim Nurzhitz and Yossi Avrahami during the Ramallah Lynching in October 2000.

Abbas called this murderer a “hero” to the Palestinian people over and again.

Mahmoud Abbas demonstrated to the world his intransigence, hypocrisy, insanity, and consequently, why there is no peace with Israel. The Arab world has grown tired of him and his cause, disavowing the terrorism that he and the Iranian regime support, and are beginning to deepen their countries’ relationships with Israel.

Use by date expires

A red inked rubber stamp, with a grungy texture to simulate the effect of ink on paper. AI10 EPS is saved in a CMYK color space for optimal printing.

When use by dates expire for food and medicine, we dispose of the remaining items to avoid being either poisoned or adversely affected.

Watching and listening to the latest prattling by world leaders at the annual farce of the United Nations General Assembly gathering, it should be abundantly clear to all but the totally disconnected from reality that this organisation’s use by date has well and truly expired.

That being the case, it is imperative that the democratic members who are now a distinct minority abandon their current reluctance to challenge the morally corrupt majority and call it a day.

Who funds the continued major part of the UN’s running expenses?

We all know the answer to that question. Why should the long-suffering taxpayers of New Zealand, Australia and Israel, for example, continue to keep afloat an increasingly ineffective and corrupt body when its original worthy charter has long ago become subverted by a majority of countries for whom democratic values and respect for human rights is worth nothing?

Has the time not arrived to pull the plug before the swamp of hypocrisy and double standards fatally poisons any sort of moral standard which might still exist?

The choice is stark and clear.

Either leave and create if possible a more equitable and effective guardian of democratic values or, like the passengers on the Titanic, stay and go down with the ship. After all, that is exactly what occurred with the UN’s predecessor. The League of Nations was subverted by the same type of abusers and terror-promoting regimes and in the face of appeasement by democratic members and a refusal to challenge and confront them, the body established to safeguard peace became fatally impotent. As a consequence, the League became an irrelevance where terrorist States dominated, others pontificated and the world hurtled headlong into the Shoah.

The League died, taking all its members with it. Unless today’s nations screw up their collective courage and actually act, they will likewise be responsible for the UN’s demise.

One does not need to be any sort of genius or political whizz kid to see which way the wind is blowing. Apart from politicians who spout hot air and are mesmerised by their own infallible rhetoric and those of the public who have been successfully brainwashed by a biased media, the spectacle on display at the UN General Assembly should prove that the UN and some of its associated bodies are living on borrowed time.

It is only necessary to witness the pathetic performances at the recent General Assembly to realise that rock bottom has been reached.

Two of the permanent Security Council members who wield veto powers, China and Russia, successfully thwart any and every attempt to take meaningful action against rogue nations like North Korea and Iran. Needless to say the immunity they have to flout the most basic conventions and rules of the UN makes a mockery of the charter they are theoretically pledged to uphold.

One of the fatal flaws of the deceased League was its impotence in protecting the sovereignty of small countries and preventing the bullies of the day from trampling the freedom and human rights of their neighbours. The same pitiful performance is being repeated today, and, as in the past, threats to wipe out those deemed expendable are now made. In the absence of credible consequences and with weak democratic leadership the stage is well and truly set for the criminals to take over the UN. Actually, they have already subverted it.

We know that the UN has already succumbed because one of the surest signs of this moral collapse is the fact that a scapegoat must be found to divert attention away from the real crimes.

What better scapegoat can be conjured up than the Jewish State?

When all else fails, and it is deemed necessary to unite around a common enemy, especially at times others are breaking every rule and abusing life, liberty and freedom, it is always a sure bet to pick on Israel. We have seen how well this works with the UN Human Rights Council and other associated bodies.

Just when you think that the UN cannot sink any lower, the usual suspects prove otherwise. This current session of the General Assembly is a classic case in point.

China suppresses religious and national freedoms, threatens Taiwan and erases Tibetan sovereignty. North Korea threatens its neighbours and blackmails with nuclear impunity. Afghanistan sends its female citizens back to the dark ages. Russia invades and annexes while a repeat of Communist-era suppression looms. Iran thumbs its nose at the UN as it races towards nuclear blackmail capabilities and murders women for not dressing “modestly” enough. To compound the total morass swirling in the immoral swamp of the UN, the President of Iran, who questions whether the Shoah actually occurred, is feted as an honoured member. These are just a few of the most blatant examples which marked this year’s annual farce.

The top prizes for “chutzpah” however, must undoubtedly be awarded to the Hashemite Monarch and the Palestinian Arab President for life. The former revels in his self-glorifying role as “defender” of Islamic and Christian sites in Jerusalem, and the latter basks in the international beneficence bestowed on him while he simultaneously issues venomous lies.

Abdullah of Jordan used his speech to once again vilify Israel accusing it of “putting Christians under fire in Jerusalem and undermining the status quo.” This pompous performance of unsubstantiated lies garnered no declarations of outrage from the assembled delegates and like the litany of libels which traipsed forth from other masqueraders of democratic freedoms, were listened to with nary a murmur of dissent.

The other star performer was, of course, Abbas from the PA. Having dazzled in Germany with his “fifty holocausts” accusations against Israel, he was bound to put on a repeat performance in New York. Obviously, his speech writers made sure this time that holocaust was replaced by massacres but apart from that the script was almost the same and pre-ordained. With no doubt, a majority of the General Assembly already prepared to crown him as the anointed saviour of a fake Palestine, he could be assured of a rapturous audience ready and willing to embrace every libel and lie which dripped from his mouth. All the usual and familiar crimes the Jewish State is accused of were enumerated and once again, apart from Israel, there were no condemnations of any consequence forthcoming from the rest of the assembled delegates.

His subsequent New Year greetings to Israel’s President and PM dripped with insincerity and would fool only the most gullible, of which unfortunately, there are still far too many.

None of this is surprising to any normal observer of what passes for international hot air gatherings these days.

One has, however, to query whether going along with this farce is still worthwhile.

How long can democratic nations continue to prop up an increasingly corrupt, ineffective and dysfunctional organisation?

When the use-by date has expired, it’s time to dispose of the tainted goods.

The sooner, the better.

David Cicilline, Jewish progressive, is new chair of House Middle East subcommittee

Democrats on the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee voted to name as chairman of its influential Middle East subcommittee Rep. David Cicilline, a Jewish Rhode Islander who is a member of the party’s Progressive Caucus.

Cicilline bested Brad Schneider, a moderate Jewish Illinois Democrat, in an 18-6 vote.

Cicilline and Schneider are both close to the mainstream pro-Israel community and are both endorsed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s affiliated political action committee, but establishment pro-Israel insiders had favored Schneider and lobbied for him because his ties are closer. Schneider held lay leader positions at AIPAC, the American Jewish Committee, and Chicago-area Jewish groups and has taken the lead in advancing pro-Israel legislation.

Cicilline replaces Ted Deutch, the Florida Democrat who is quitting Congress to lead the American Jewish Committee, and who, like Schneider, is close to the mainstream pro-Israel community. Cicilline plans to run again to lead Democrats on the subcommittee in December. The subcommittee shapes policy on Israel and Iran, among other issues of intense focus to the organized Jewish community.

A committee insider told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Cicilline prevailed because of his seniority, usually the most important factor when Democrats choose congressional leaders. Cicilline was elected in 2010 and has served since; Schneider was elected in 2012 but lost in 2014 before being reelected in 2016.

Cicilline stands out in the Progressive Caucus, where he is one of eight vice chairs, for being vocally pro-Israel among a faction of House members who have grown increasingly critical of the country in recent years. In addition to being endorsed by AIPAC’s PAC, he is also endorsed by the political action committee associated with J Street, the left-leaning Jewish Middle East policy group; Schneider does not have J Street’s endorsement.

Cicilline did not mention Israel in a statement after the vote but spoke in general terms of unity. “At a time of instability around the world, including in the Middle East, I believe that it is more important than ever that we work together, as members of the committee, to do everything we can to address humanitarian crises, human rights abuses, and political upheaval throughout the region,” he said.

Justice for Amiram!, Second Amiram Zoom Call, October 2 The mitzva of “redeeming captives”

Take part in the mitzvah of “redeeming captives” before this Yom Kippur. Join us in a special Zoom meeting dedicated to helping bring about the release of Amiram Ben Uliel.

The main speaker will be Steve Rodan, who will share from his experience advice on how to get Amiram released. He has been a journalist for more than 40 years and worked for major outlets in Israel, Europe, and the United States, including the Jerusalem Post, Israel Radio, Jane’s Defence Weekly, and Defense News. In 2021, Rodan and Elly Sinclair wrote and published In Jewish Blood: The Zionist Alliance with Germany, 1933-1963, which is available on Amazon.

The Zoom call will take place on Sunday, October 2 (7 Tishrei)
10:00 AM Eastern US Time
5:00 PM Israel Time

Click on the link below to register and receive the link for the Zoom call:
Registration For Second Amiram Zoom Call

Or paste the link into your browser
https://www.honenu.org/amiram-zoom-call-registration

This is NOT a political issue!

This is NOT an issue of right or left!

This is an issue of HUMAN RIGHTS!

Help Honenu stop brutal treatment of GSS interogatees and ensure fair treatment by the Israeli government and the courts; PARTNER with us.

Jordan, Sweden seek further funding for UNRWA

  • Meeting discussed mobilizing support for UNGA vote to renew agency’s mandate
  • Jordan’s deputy PM: UNRWA’s role important for regional stability

AMMAN: Jordan and Sweden have co-chaired a ministerial meeting focused on developing policies and strategies to ensure the sustainability of financing the UN Relief and Works Agency’s programs.

Jordan’s deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and expatriates, Ayman Safadi, together with Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde, chaired Thursday’s ministerial meeting to support UNRWA, with the participation of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, reported the Jordan News Agency.
UNRWA’s Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, foreign ministers and representatives of 40 countries and international organizations attended the meeting that discussed the best sustainable means to finance the agency’s programs to enable it to provide vital services to Palestinian refugees, said a ministry statement published by Jordan News Agency.
The meeting further discussed mobilizing support for the vote in the UN General Assembly to renew UNRWA’s mandate next December.
Guterres stressed the important role of UNRWA in enhancing stability in the Middle East, calling for adequate funding for the agency. He noted that the organization still needs more than $100 million.
He said without its vital services, there would be no education for children or shelter for families.
He added that support for UNRWA is a moral responsibility, and that any disruption of its work would lead to increased frustration and provide terrorist organizations with a fertile environment for recruitment.
Safadi said the agency’s role is an important factor for stability in the region, and stressed the need to continue to implement its international mandate.
He also emphasized the importance of the international community to provide political and financial support to UNRWA so that “it can continue to provide its vital services to the refugees.”
Safadi highlighted Jordan’s continued work with Sweden and international partners to provide the support the agency needs.
He also stressed the need to work on developing policies, strategies and a predictable budget through a three-year funding scheme that would enable UNRWA to fund its program from the UN’s regular budget.
Safadi said the agency must continue to provide its services until the refugee issue is resolved in accordance with international law.
He added that this should happen in the context of a comprehensive settlement based on the two-state solution that embodies the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state with occupied Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side with Israel in peace and security.
Linde said the meeting confirmed the international community’s willingness to support UNRWA and its basic role, stressing the importance of providing sustainable and stable financial support to the agency.
Lazzarini spoke about the challenges facing the agency and its financial deficit, the plan for coming years, and efforts to provide necessary support for it.

Australia promises to double aid to UNRWA to 20 million AUD

Australia promises to double aid to UNRWA to 20 million AUD
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong announced on Friday that her country will double its humanitarian and development assistance contribution to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) this financial year to 20 million Australian dollars.

“In recognition of the vital work UNRWA undertakes I am pleased to announce today that Australia plans to double our contribution to UNRWA this financial year, from $10 to $20 million Australian dollars,” she reported in a statement.

She said, “Australia remains a strong supporter of a two-state solution, in which Israel and a future Palestinian state coexist, in peace and security, within internationally recognised borders. Viewing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from one perspective will not achieve that goal.”

“A two-state solution can only be achieved through a negotiated outcome between the two parties. Australia encourages Israel and the Palestinians to return to direct negotiations in good faith. We would welcome any initiative that can assist in the resumption of direct peace negotiations, to arrive at a sustainable and resilient settlement.”

EU aims for Israel reboot with summit

The EU is seeking to reset its often testy relationship with Israel next week, convening a summit on Monday of senior political figures for the first time in a decade.

The meeting format, known as the EU-Israel Association Council, has essentially been dormant since 2013, when Israel canceled a gathering in protest over the EU’s stance on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Since then, the two sides have continued to clash over similar issues.

But the 2021 exit of hardline Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened the door for current rapprochement. His replacement, Yair Lapid, who also holds the foreign minister role, has embraced a two-state solution with Palestine — a position more in line with many EU countries’ approach, even if several countries are still expected to express disapproval of Israel’s Palestinian policies on Monday. Brussels is also eager to shore up energy supplies from Israel amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“There’s a big hope that the upcoming association council between the EU and Israel will bring … a new wind into our relationship,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský told POLITICO last week at the United Nations General Assembly, expressing optimism that the development will be one of the key achievements of the Czechs’ six-month rotating EU presidency.

Still, getting EU consensus on one of the world’s most notoriously contentious conflicts is not going to be easy.

Countries like Ireland and Sweden have traditionally taken a more pro-Palestinian stance — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stopped off in Dublin for a meeting with the Irish prime minister earlier this month en route to the U.N. annual gathering. On the other end of the spectrum, Israel has strong supporters within the EU. Hungary, for example, is a staunch ally with economic and ideological bonds forged over the years between Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Netanyahu.

Before the EU-Israel council went dark, it had served for more than a decade as a forum for officials to regularly meet and discuss these issues. Now, with the council set to be revived, member states are tinkering with an official communique that needs to satisfy the spectrum of views regarding EU-Israeli relations.

Finding common language can mean weeks of fighting over a single word while backroom deals are cut to appease the myriad interests at play. Palestinian officials are also watching closely, demanding not to be left out of a similar diplomatic engagement with Brussels.

The EU’s complicated role in the Israel-Palestine conflict has played out in numerous controversies this year alone.

This spring, the European Commission was forced to delay funding for the Palestinian Authority over the content of textbooks, which critics say included anti-Israeli incitements to violence.

The decision to block the funds was led by Hungarian EU Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi. As POLITICO first reported, 15 countries sent a letter to the Commission in April blasting the move. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen finally announced the money would be disbursed during a visit to the Palestinian city Ramallah in July.

Further tensions with Tel Aviv emerged following an Israeli raid in July on the offices of Palestinian NGOs.

Israel had accused the groups — some of which received funds from EU countries — of being terrorist organizations. But numerous EU countries weren’t convinced.

In a joint statement at the time, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden all blasted Israel, saying it had not supplied “substantial information” to justify the raids. The bloc reiterated those “deep concerns” in August after further Israeli raids on civil society groups.

Another dynamic affecting the EU’s relationship with Israel is the Continent’s energy woes. As Europe scrambles to find alternative sources of Russian gas, furthering energy ties with Israel is one possible answer.

In a June visit to Israel, von der Leyen signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel and Egypt to boost gas exports. The EU is also Israel’s largest trade market and accounts for about a third of Israel’s total trade.

But while economic imperatives explain part of the new push for engagement with Israel, long-term observers say the outreach also reflects a new willingness to engage with Tel Aviv after Lapid came to power this summer. Lapid entered office as part of a power-sharing arrangement with Naftali Bennett, who held the job for a year prior to him.

“I think it is a genuine shift,” said Maya Sion-Tzidkiyahu, who helms the Israel-Europe Program at Mitvim Institute, an Israeli think tank. “The change of tone was made by Lapid, who shares much of the EU’s normative stance on the liberal democratic world order. It’s now much more positive than during Netanyahu’s government, even if Bennett and now Lapid government is not advancing the peace process.”

Sion-Tzidkiyahu said mutually beneficial scenarios are helping to replace “megaphone diplomacy” with closer dialogue.

“Disagreements on contentious issues such as the Palestinian or Iranian one will not disappear, but perhaps there are now better understanding for the concerns of each side,” she said.

Lipavský, the Czech foreign minister, is aware of the concerns some EU countries have about the Israeli’s government actions in the West Bank and towards Palestinians.

“We need to discuss [these concerns] openly, but I don’t think that one issue should block the debate about the others,” he said.

Officially, the EU supports the two-state solution that sees a Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security with Israel — a vision also shared by the United States. But making that prospect a reality seems as far away as ever.

Sven Koopmans, the EU special representative for the Middle East peace process, wrote earlier this month that all parties needed to help identify ways to solve the man-made conflict.

“The current situation is increasingly seen as a structural human rights problem, in which Israel has the upper hand,” he wrote in the Israeli outlet Haaretz. “That negatively affects how the world perceives Israel, and holds risks for the long-term. It should not be that way.”

When it comes to resuming the peace process, Sion-Tzidkiyahu is not confident.

“Under the current political circumstances in the Palestinian Authority and Israel, such development is not foreseen,” she said. “At most, the EU can push for more practical steps by Israel to improve Palestinian’s condition.”