UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl
Millions of Palestinian refugees "cannot simply be wished away", the head of a U.N. support agency said on Monday, hitting back at a U.S. aid cutoff and allegations its work only perpetuates their plight.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) provides services to about 5 million Palestinian refugees across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank and Gaza. Most are descendants of some 700,000 Palestinians who were driven out of their homes or fled fighting in the 1948 war that led to Israel's creation.
The growing refugee count was cited by Washington, UNRWA's biggest donor, in its decision last week to withhold funding, and has potential ramifications for the Palestinians' pursuit of a right of return to land now in Israel.
Successive Israeli governments have ruled out such an influx, fearing the country would lose its Jewish majority.
Palestinian group Hamas said a U.S. proposal for creating a confederation between Palestine and Jordan was meant to liquidate the Palestinian issue.“Confederation means usurping Jerusalem, abolishing the right of return and liquidation of UNRWA,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem said in a statement on Monday.On Sunday, Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said U.S. President Donald Trump's aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner and U.S. Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt offered him the idea of establishing a Palestine-Jordanian confederation.Speaking at a meeting with the non-governmental organization Peace Now in Ramallah, Abbas reportedly said he would accept the offer and asked if Israel would be a part of the proposed confederation.Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said people of Palestine and Jordan were the ones to decide on the confederation, according to the official news agency WAFA.Hamas said Abbas’ talk about confederation between Palestine and Jordan “helps the [Israeli] occupation to be a natural part of the region”.On Sunday, the Jordanian government rejected the U.S. proposal for creating a confederation between Palestine and Jordan.
Confederation to ‘liquidate’ Palestinian cause: Hamas
"I express deep regret and disappointment at the nature of the U.S. decision," UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl said in an open letter to Palestinian refugees and the agency's staff in which he pledged its operations would continue.
Appearing to echo Israel's view that descendants of the 1948 refugees should not share that status, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert criticised UNRWA on Friday over its "endlessly and exponentially expanding community of entitled beneficiaries".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described UNRWA on Sunday as "the refugee perpetuation agency" whose money "should be taken and be used to really help rehabilitate the refugees, whose real number is a sliver of that reported by UNRWA".
But Krahenbuhl said "the protracted nature of the Palestine refugee crisis" was not unique. He said the children and grandchildren of long-displaced refugees in Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, Congo and elsewhere are also recognised as refugees and assisted by the United Nations.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday said Palestine still believes in peace on the basis of the principle of a two-state solution, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.Speaking at a meeting with a delegation from the Israeli "Peace Now" movement at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah, Abbas said: "Peace must be reached no matter how great the challenges and difficulties it faces, for a better future for our children and our youth from both peoples.""Despite all the difficult circumstances surrounding us, we still believe in peace on the basis of the resolutions of international legitimacy and the principle of a two-state solution to establish our civil state, which works to spread culture and peace in the world," he saidPalestine bound to Egypt's mediation: President AbbasAbbas recalled that the contacts with the U.S. administration have been cut since President Donald Trump announced the transfer of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, declaring it the capital of Israel, and trying to redefine the Palestinian refugee in violation of the resolutions of international legitimacy.Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might eventually serve as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.Trump, however, sparked international uproar for his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.Arab League slams US aid cut to UN Palestine agencyThe Palestinians have snubbed calls from the Trump administration to return to the negotiating table, arguing that Washington gave up its status as a neutral mediator by making the declaration.About the U.S. decisions to end funding for he United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Abbas stressed that this issue must be resolved in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative.On Friday, the U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Washington "will no longer commit further funding" to the UNRWA.Turkey slams US decision to cut UNRWA fundingThe U.S. was by far UNRWA's largest funder, giving $350 million annually, or about one-quarter of the agency's budget.Earlier last week, UNRWA had warned if Washington went through with its funding cut it would likely result in greater instability.Established in 1949, UNRWA provides critical aid to more than 5 million Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.Israeli troops fire on Gaza protesters, wounding 52
Palestine still believes in 2-state solution: Abbas
SCHOOLS OPEN
"No matter how often attempts are made to minimise or delegitimise the individual and collective experiences of Palestine refugees, the undeniable fact remains that they have rights under international law and represent a community of 5.4 million men, women and children who cannot simply be wished away," he said.
The United States paid out $60 million to UNRWA in January, withholding another $65 million, from a promised $365 million for the year. Krahenbuhl said Gulf states had injected funds but UNRWA still needed more than $200 million.
In Lebanon on Monday, UNRWA opened its school year as scheduled. Studies in UNRWA-run schools in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip got under way on Wednesday.
The Arab League on Saturday condemned a U.S. decision to end funding for the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA.In a statement, the Cairo-based league said the U.S. move “reflects a desire to take the issue of Jerusalem and refugees off the negotiating table between the Palestinians and Israelis”.“Washington will be responsible for the great harms caused by this decision to around five million Palestinian refugees who are dependent on the agency aid,” Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said.On Friday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Washington "will no longer commit further funding" to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).Palestinians decry US decision to end aid for agencyAboul-Gheit said the U.S. decision will not only harm the refugees, but also the host countries.He said the decision “complicates the problems in the Middle East and does not help bring stabilityThe U.S. was by far UNRWA's largest funder, giving $350 million annually, or about one-quarter of the agency's budget.Established in 1949, UNRWA provides critical aid to more than 5 million Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.Turkey slams US decision to end UNRWA funding
Arab League slams US aid cut to UN Palestine agency
Claudio Cordone, director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon, told Reuters that funds would last only until the end of the month but the agency would continue to raise money to ensure the schools remain open.
Washington's move against UNRWA was the latest in a series of U.S. and Israeli policy decisions that have angered Palestinians and raised international concern.
They include Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December, the moving of the U.S. Embassy to the contested city in May and Israel's adoption of a "nation-state" law in July that says only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country.
Justice and Development (AK) Party spokesperson Ömer Çelik slammed a move by Washington to cut funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).“The U.S. decision to end aid to the UN Palestinian refugee agency will provoke chaos and worsen the situation in the region. Every step that blocks the solution of the Palestine issue affects the whole world. The U.S. supports discord,” Çelik said on Friday.“The entire world must stand united against this unjust move by the U.S., like it did regarding the Jerusalem issue in the past. The best response is to increase financial aid to the UNRWA,” he added.Çelik’s comments came after the Turkish Foreign Ministry released a statement dubbing the U.S. move “greatly disappointing.”Palestinians decry US decision to end aid for agencyIn the first reaction by Turkey to the American decision, a written statement by the ministry criticized the American decision to cut its aid to the UNRWA, noting that it will “negatively affect the lives of over five million Palestinians.”“This decision will at the same time damage regional peace and stability, and the prospect of finding a two-state political solution to the Palestinian issue.”“Over 500,000 Palestinian children receive education at UNRWA schools and close to one million Palestinians depend on UNRWA’s urgent food aid for sustenance,” the statement read.State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert announced on Friday that Washington "will no longer commit further funding" to the UNRWA.US cuts all funding for UN's Palestine refugee agencyThe U.S. was by far UNRWA's largest funder, giving $350 million annually, or about one-quarter of the agency's budget.The agency is responsible for a number of critical programs for the more than five million Palestinians living in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. It provides them with schooling, health services and food security, among other services.UNRWA earlier this week warned that if Washington went through with its funding cut, it would likely result in greater instability in the region.
Turkey slams US decision to cut UNRWA funding