U.S. Decision to Defund UNRWA Aimed at Refocusing Attention on Ways to End the Conflict
UNRWA has existed for more than 60 years as a "temporary" initiative to address the needs of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 Israeli-Arab conflict and to facilitate their resettlement and/or repatriation. The U.S. has provided UNRWA with more than $6 billion since 1950.How does UNRWA impact Palestinians and Israelis?
Unfortunately, that support did not bring the situation any closer to resolution. On the contrary, it absolved Palestinian leaders of the responsibility to provide health care, education, and other basic services that sovereign governments - which the Palestinians claim to be - are expected to provide for their own people.
Contrary to the claims of the Palestinians, the U.S. is not "violating international law" by ending funding for UNRWA. U.S. funding is voluntary, not a legal entitlement, and America reasonably expects that its support not be misused and that the Palestinians earnestly engage in the peace process.
Instead, Palestinian leaders have rejected increasingly generous offers since the 1990s. This intransigence, encouraged by Iran and rejectionist Arab leaders, lies at the root of the Palestinian refugee problem and harms the Palestinian people.
Although it will likely cause short-term ramifications, the decision to defund this agency will, hopefully, refocus attention on what is necessary to end this protracted dispute.
Millions around the world were made refugees in the 1940’s. Over 70 years later, they are not refugees anymore. So why are Palestinian Arabs perpetually referred to that way? WATCH our new video on the controversy surrounding UNRWA - the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Likud minister: Trump peels Palestinian lie like an onion
Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) on Wednesday welcomed US President Donald Trump's decision to close Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) offices in Washington DC.
"This decision joins the decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the decision to stop funding UNRWA, which is an organization that perpetuates the refugees' pretend right of return,"Katz said. "All these steps reach the roots of the conflict and tell Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas that he can not continue his double-talk."
"Trump is peeling the Palestinian lie like an onion - layer by layer. Their educational system as well teaches their children that 'big Palestine' is from the Jordan River to the sea. Trump cmes and says: 'If you want to sit and negotiate, do it from a realistic place - Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and there is no right of return. Abbas' response shows exactly what he thinks of these issues."
Katz also slammed Israeli leftists who oppose Trump's actions.
"They should have been the first ones supporting it, if they believe in negotiating based on something different," he said. "But they're so immersed in supporting the Palestinian narrative and blindly following whatever the Palestinian leaders say that they don't truly examine reality, and that's a shame."
Even as the US poured millions of $$ into their welfare the Palestinians rejoiced at their moment of horror. https://t.co/DhLaDnj35g
— Rɪᴄʜᴀʀᴅ Kᴇᴍᴘ (@COLRICHARDKEMP) September 11, 2018
Diplomatic retribution at last
The closure of the Palestinian mission in Washington is just the latest in a series of moves by a U.S. administration that does not differentiate between the Palestinians' diplomatic warfare against Israel and the various terrorist methods it employs.
The Palestinians have attempted to enlist the International Criminal Court in their efforts against Israel. Under President Donald Trump, the Americans announced they would "use any means necessary" against the ICC should it decide to begin proceedings against Israeli officials.
As the U.S. administration sees it, the Palestinians, along with the Iranians, are corrupting global democracy.
Under Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinians serve Iranian interests. Abbas and the PA are the ones fanning the flames in the Gaza Strip and they are responsible for the deteriorating situation there. Hamas, meanwhile, supplies the goods in return for Iranian funds. The Palestinians also sent a senior delegation to attend North Korea's 70th-anniversary celebrations. This is the political and ideological environment of the PA.
The Trump administration is breaking norms. Instead of courting the Palestinians in the hope that they will enter negotiations, the White House is punishing them and acting to bring about their defeat. In Israel, many recoil from this strategy. We are the ones who live with the Palestinians and what their defeat will mean for us remains unclear. The last time the Palestine Liberation Organizations looked like it was about to wiped off the map, the organization had its pieces pulled back together and the Oslo Accords were signed.