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Swiss Minister: UNRWA Is Part of the Problem in the Middle East
(Swiss Info) United Nations aid work for Palestinian refugees is a stumbling block to peace in the Middle East, hindering the integration of Palestinians who have lived in Jordan and Lebanon for years, according to Swiss Foreign Affairs Minister Ignazio Cassis. So long as Palestinians live in refugee camps, they can dream of returning home, he said. "It is unrealistic that all of them can fulfil this dream. Yet the UNRWA keeps this dream alive," Cassis said. "For a long time the UNRWA was the solution to this problem, but today it has become part of the problem. It supplies the ammunition to continue the conflict. By supporting the UNRWA, we keep the conflict alive. It's a perverse logic." He called for the integration of long-term refugees in their countries of residence.