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Source: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Untying-the-Gordian-Knot-of-the-Israeli-Palestinian-conflict-496657
To Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Dismantle the Palestinian Refugee Camps First
(Jerusalem Post) Dore Gold - A critical factor in explaining why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has not yet been resolved is the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for dismantling UNRWA, whose very existence, he said, "perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem rather than solves it." For years, Israeli officials have noted that UNRWA has provided a breeding ground for the growth of terrorist activity against Israel. In 2014, UNRWA used its schools for storing rockets, and UNRWA building supplies were found to have been used by Hamas for tunnel construction. Successful UN refugee programs overseen by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees have led to a diminution of the refugee problem in different parts of the world. But by UNRWA's own data, the number of Palestinian refugees (750,000 in 1948) has mushroomed to five million today. Refugee status has continued from generation to generation in perpetuity. With the implementation of the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, 26 refugee camps fell under Palestinian control. Yet despite the advent of Palestinian self-government, not a single Palestinian camp has been closed. The only explanation for this is that the Palestinian leadership wanted to keep their grievance with Israel alive and perpetuate the conflict. If a new peace initiative is to start, it should include at the outset a program to dismantle the refugee camps. The writer, president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, served as Israel's ambassador to the UN and director general of the Foreign Ministry.