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The End to U.S. Funding to UNRWA

(Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University) Michal Hatuel-Radoshitzky and Kobi Michael - UNRWA adds some 10,000 new fifth and sixth generation refugees to its lists per month, recognizes some two million Jordanian citizens of Palestinian descent as Palestinian refugees, and grants refugee status to convicted terrorists. UNRWA has nearly 30,000 employees (the majority are Palestinian) to care for 5.6 million Palestinian refugees. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) employs 9,300 people to address the needs of 39 million refugees and displaced persons. The budget allocated to each Palestinian refugee under the auspices of UNRWA is 40% higher than the budget allocated to refugees under UNHCR auspices. U.S. contributions to UNRWA were three times the sum contributed by the EU. UNRWA in its current format is designed to perpetuate Palestinian refugee status and cultivate the next generation of Palestinians on the ethos of returning to their ancestral homes in Israel. While dismantling UNRWA will not change the Palestinian narrative, prolonging the agency's current operational framework sends a message that does not help narrow conceptual gaps between the sides. Dr. Michal Hatuel-Radoshitzky is a research fellow at INSS. Dr. Kobi Michael, a senior research fellow at INSS, served as deputy director general and head of the Palestinian desk at the Israel Ministry of Strategic Affairs.
2018-09-07 00:00:00
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