Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
UN Official: Palestinian Refugee Issue Can't Be Wished Away
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 years ago on
August 25, 2018

Share

JERUSALEM — The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees suggested that the United States slashed his budget early this year to punish the Palestinians for their criticism of the American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but he warned that the Palestinian refugee issue will not go away.

“One cannot simply wish 5 million people away.”Pierre Kraehenbuehl, commissioner of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency
The comments by Pierre Kraehenbuehl came amid signs that the U.S., with Israeli support, is aiming to abolish UNRWA in an apparent attempt to remove one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the negotiating agenda.
“One cannot simply wish 5 million people away,” Kraehenbuehl, commissioner of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
In January, the U.S., the largest donor to the agency, slashed some $300 million from its annual contribution to UNRWA, prompting what Kraehenbuehl called an unprecedented financial crisis.
Although he has made up some of the deficit by raising money from other countries, the agency still lacks over $200 million. It recently laid off over 100 people in the Gaza Strip and cut back the hours of 500 other employees. The upcoming school year for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children across the Middle East has been threatened.
Kraehenbuehl made his comments before the Trump administration announced Friday that it was cutting more than $200 million in bilateral aid to the Palestinians, following a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza.

The department notified Congress of the decision in a brief, three-paragraph notice sent first to lawmakers and then to reporters. It said the administration will redirect the money to “high priority projects elsewhere.”

Watch the Video

Click on the video above to watch GV Wire News Director Bill McEwen’s interview on Israeli-Palestinian relations with retired FBI special agent Tom Knowles, who was a legal attache in the region. 

Caught off Guard by the Decision

Kraehenbuehl said he was caught off guard by the American decision, which came just weeks after he had held what he described as a successful meeting with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and chief Mideast adviser.

Photo of Pierre Kraehenbuehl, the head of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)
“I can say with a great degree of confidence that the decision was not related to UNRWA’s performance.” — Pierre Kraehenbuehl, commissioner of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency
He said he still has not gotten a straight answer from the Americans about why they made their decision.
But he said he believes it is connected to the uproar over the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December. The Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as their capital, condemned the decision and severed nearly all ties with the Americans.
“I can say with a great degree of confidence that the decision was not related to UNRWA’s performance because in November I had received very constructive and openly positive feedback on those issues,” he said.
“A few weeks later, tensions increased around the question of Jerusalem,” he added. “It appears that the humanitarian funding to UNRWA got caught up in the deep polarization around that question.”
The State Department said it is reviewing funding to UNRWA and has not decided whether to restore support in the future. It repeated its position that the agency’s repeated financial crises are “unsustainable” and called on it to find other countries to share the funding burden and to undertake “fundamental reforms.”
But privately, there are signs that the American agenda runs deeper and that the Trump administration seeks to abolish UNRWA altogether.
In an internal email recently published by Foreign Policy magazine, Kushner called for a “sincere effort to disrupt UNRWA.”
“This (agency) perpetuates a status quo, is corrupt, inefficient and doesn’t help peace,” he reportedly wrote.

U.S. Putting Pressure on Host Countries

The Palestinians fear the U.S. is putting pressure on host countries to absorb their refugee populations and eliminate the issue from future peace negotiations. The White House says it is working on a regional peace plan, though it has not said when it will be released.
UNRWA was established in the wake of the 1948 Mideast war surrounding Israel’s creation. An estimated 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in the fighting.
In the absence of a solution, the U.N. General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA’s mandate. The agency now provides education, health care and social services to more than 5 million refugees and their descendants. It serves populations in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Seen by the Palestinians and most of the international community as providing a valuable safety net, UNRWA is viewed far differently by Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses the agency of perpetuating the conflict by helping promote an unrealistic Palestinian demand that refugees have the “right of return” to long-lost homes in what is now Israel. He has said UNRWA should be abolished and its responsibilities taken over by the main U.N. refugee agency.
Some in Israel have even tougher criticism, accusing UNRWA of teaching hatred of Israel in its classrooms and tolerating or assisting Hamas militants in Gaza.

Israel Has Raised Similar Concerns

Kraehenbuehl said Israel has raised similar concerns for years, but that there has been a “strong intensification” of the criticism now that the Trump administration appears to be in agreement.

“I really find it very difficult to imagine that I have to go back to them and tell them that I have failed and we have failed to mobilize the needed resources, to keep the one thing that gives them a certain prospect in life … which is their education.” — Pierre Kraehenbuehl, commissioner of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency
He rejected the Israeli claim that his agency is perpetuating the conflict, saying that it is carrying out a U.N.-mandated mission that reflects the will of the international community.
Kraehenbuehl said that Israeli claims that the Palestinians are the only people to pass down refugee status to their children also are unfounded, saying that Afghan refugees displaced decades ago have the same status.
He also noted that UNRWA has a committee to monitor the content of its classrooms and has condemned attempts by Gaza militants to use UNRWA facilities for cover.
Kraehenbuehl said the best way to solve these matters is to find a “political solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that addresses the fate of the refugees.
In the meantime, he said UNRWA’s focus is for its schools to open on schedule in early September. For now, he said there are enough funds to keep the schools running only until the end of the month. An aggressive fund-raising effort is underway to ensure the schools operate for the entire academic year.
“I see the courage displayed by our students in the face of so much adversity,” he said. “I really find it very difficult to imagine that I have to go back to them and tell them that I have failed and we have failed to mobilize the needed resources, to keep the one thing that gives them a certain prospect in life … which is their education. So we will knock on every door, we will leave no stone unturned until we have good news on this front.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Willie Ray Butler

DON'T MISS

California’s Economy Ranks Fourth Worldwide, Surpasses Japan

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Traffic Stop Leads to $600K Cocaine Bust

DON'T MISS

Fresno Ranks Fourth in US for an Affordable Night Out

DON'T MISS

New US SEC Chair Says Crypto Sector Deserves Clear Regulations

DON'T MISS

US Officials Arrest Milwaukee Judge for Obstructing Immigration Operation

DON'T MISS

Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill

DON'T MISS

China Exempts Some Goods From US Tariffs

DON'T MISS

Luigi Mangione Due in Court for Arraignment as Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty

UP NEXT

China Exempts Some Goods From US Tariffs

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

UP NEXT

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

UP NEXT

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

UP NEXT

Two From Search Group That Uncovered Mexico’s ‘Ranch of Horror’ Killed

UP NEXT

Chicago Bears Great Steve McMichael Dies at 67 After Battle With ALS

UP NEXT

Long Wait Is Over for Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Other Draft Prospects Joining the NFL

UP NEXT

Golden State’s Jimmy Butler Injured in Game 2 Loss, His Status for Game 3 Unknown

UP NEXT

Jalen Green Makes Eight 3s to Help Rockets Even Series With Warriors

UP NEXT

Israeli Fire Kills at Least 44 People in Gaza, Hits a Police Station

Fresno County Traffic Stop Leads to $600K Cocaine Bust

1 hour ago

Fresno Ranks Fourth in US for an Affordable Night Out

1 hour ago

New US SEC Chair Says Crypto Sector Deserves Clear Regulations

2 hours ago

US Officials Arrest Milwaukee Judge for Obstructing Immigration Operation

2 hours ago

Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill

3 hours ago

China Exempts Some Goods From US Tariffs

3 hours ago

Luigi Mangione Due in Court for Arraignment as Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty

3 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders Snubbed in NFL Draft’s Round 1 but Leads List of Top Available Players for Day 2

3 hours ago

Chargers Choose North Carolina RB Omarion Hampton in Effort to Boost Offense

4 hours ago

49ers Draft Georgia Edge Rusher Mykel Williams With the No. 11 Pick in the NFL Draft

4 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder

A Fresno man has been arrested in connection with a decades-old cold case after DNA technology linked him to the 2004 murder and sexual assa...

1 hour ago

Robert Castillo (left), 61, of Fresno, has been arrested in the 2004 murder and sexual assault of Barbara Lee after DNA evidence linked him to the cold case and two additional rape investigations. (Fresno County SO)
1 hour ago

Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder

Willie Ray Butler is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for April 25, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
1 hour ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Willie Ray Butler

1 hour ago

California’s Economy Ranks Fourth Worldwide, Surpasses Japan

A CHP K-9 unit discovered 13 pounds of cocaine worth over $600,000 hidden in a vehicle's exhaust tunnel during a traffic stop on I-5 in Fresno County on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (CHP)
1 hour ago

Fresno County Traffic Stop Leads to $600K Cocaine Bust

1 hour ago

Fresno Ranks Fourth in US for an Affordable Night Out

The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. Picture taken May 12, 2021. (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo)
2 hours ago

New US SEC Chair Says Crypto Sector Deserves Clear Regulations

Hannah Dugan speaks as she was seeking election to Milwaukee County Circuit Court during a forum at the Milwaukee Bar Association in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., March 15, 2016. Mike De Sisti / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images via (REUTERS/File Photo)
2 hours ago

US Officials Arrest Milwaukee Judge for Obstructing Immigration Operation

A Lockheed Martin Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile interceptor is seen during the third annual "Made in America Product Showcase" on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 15, 2019. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)
3 hours ago

Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend