US President Donald Trump's new decision to cut half of the US support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) by half a support package has added to a series of decisions that Trump has taken since he came to the White House a year ago to liquidate the case.
Palestinian, or what is left of it, to pass what has come to be called the "deal of the century", which is being prepared by the decisions of the US shock, as appears to be sponsored by some Arab countries, in exchange for a strict Palestinian rejection, making the Palestinian scene more complex, Of the US sanctions on the Palestinian N power, as a result dismissive attitudes for "century deal", and waving to other options and refused to return the US to take care of the settlement negotiations.
The American actions to impose the "deal of the century" are proceeding through successive steps to liquidate a process of the Palestinian cause, first and foremost touching the constants, the first of which is occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, which was translated in Trump Declaration finally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the occupation as well as the start of procedures for the transfer of the US embassy.
The second chapter of the liquidation of the case is the elimination of the right of return of Palestinian refugees, which is one of the most important files in the framework of the so-called "final solution," which explains the American targeting of UNRWA, after months of incitement by an Israeli Prime Minister , Benjamin Netanyahu, personally when he launched an incitement campaign last June to dismantle UNRWA and integrate its parts into the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Israel has repeatedly proved that it is an agency that misuses humanitarian aid to the international community and supports instead anti-Israeli propaganda, perpetuating the plight of Palestinian refugees and encouraging hatred, according to the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, in parallel to Netanyahu's announcement that "Americans are currently studying seriously Israel's proposal that the supervision of Palestinian refugees in the West Bank be transferred to the United Nations refugee agency and not to UNRWA."
The American impulse to pass all the steps that it sees, along with the occupation, is also necessary for the liquidation of all Palestinian rights and the waving of further measures, the unprecedented state of promotion of normalization with the Israeli occupation, which Arab officials are conducting almost openly, A clear Saudi role in pressing the Palestinians to accept the proposals that affect the fundamentals of the Palestinian issue, the most important of which is the proposal of Abu Dis, the alternative capital of Palestine for occupied Jerusalem. This was reflected in the absence of clear Arab attitudes towards the crises created by the Trump decision on Jerusalem and its continuing threats to the Palestinians.
For this reason, the US decision to cut aid to UNRWA appears to be multiple and dangerous and paves the way for the worst financial crisis in which the world body, which is suffering from a severe financial crisis, will be placed. It affects more than five million Palestinian refugees who have abandoned their parents And their grandparents from their homes in 1948.
UNRWA is the international organization that provides services to Palestine refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Its focus is on education and health, as well as humanitarian aid and relief assistance. UNRWA is fully funded through voluntary contributions from Member States of the United Nations.
There is no law that compels donors to pay, but it has been customary for States to make voluntary contributions to UNRWA regularly and without prejudice. US support for the UN is about 40 percent of its budget, according to observers and refugee specialists. The decision will lead to a real and substantial financial crisis in the organization, in light of the widespread inability to pay its employees in the coming months, which is experiencing a real financial crisis due to increased refugee requirements and a low level of funding in recent years.
UNRWA's Commissioner-General, Pierre Krähenbühl, said that reducing the US administration's financial contribution would affect regional security at a time when there are many risks and threats in the Middle East, especially given the rise of "extremism."
"This is not the first time that UNRWA has faced a major challenge in adhering to its mandate and defending it," he said in a statement released following a freeze on part of US support for the world to support Palestinian refugees and launch a global fundraising campaign to maintain the work of schools and medical clinics. Represents an expression of the will of the international community and the maintenance of basic services, such as education and health care for Palestine refugees. "
Karinbol announced that the United States' contribution this year "is below the level of previous contributions, and by a large margin, with total US contributions for 2017 more than 350 million US dollars," noting that previous US administrations "supported UNRWA and provided strong, generous and sustained support." In his statement, however, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA tried to send messages of reassurance to the Palestinian refugees. "We are working with absolute determination to ensure the continuity of UNRWA services," he said, calling on IAEA staff to continue their work "with interest as they do."
UNRWA will have to reduce its services, as it does in every financial crisis it suffers, but it is interesting that the services being cut and cut in times of crisis are not returned at the time of normal and normal support. It is possible that the UN agency will launch an international campaign of donations, such as those launched several years ago, with increasing pressure on it and increasing the needs of refugees, but even this step is not guaranteed results, and it is not easy to succeed in enhancing the financial return of the organization that is experiencing its worst crises since its inception by UN resolution.
The head of the Refugee Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Zakaria Al-Agha, told the New Arab that Washington's $ 125 million reduction in aid to UNRWA for 2018 and only $ 60 million would affect the nature of the services provided to UNRWA. refugees. Al-Agha said that the United States, which is the largest financier of UNRWA by up to 45 per cent of the total support received by the Organization, is trying, by reducing it finally, to end the UN and end the Palestinian refugee issue. He stressed that the decision to reduce the US support to "UNRWA" will negatively affect the overall educational services, health and relief and other programs provided by the UN Foundation for more than 5.5 million Palestinian refugees.
Al-Agha said that the decision to reduce the US will contribute to the escalation of tension in the region, especially when millions of Palestinian refugees find themselves without services, while the region is experiencing great tension, noting that the consequences of the decision of the Trump administration will have serious consequences.
He pointed out that the current period is witnessing a series of meetings with UNRWA Commissioner-General and several Arab officials in order to determine the seriousness of the scene, in addition to demanding the full return of the file to the General Assembly of the United Nations, being the agency through which the agency was established and the budget was provided. Without exposing the international institution to extortion from this or that side. Aga said that Trump came to serve the Israeli project, and the liquidation of the Palestinian issue through the declaration of Jerusalem as the "capital" of the occupying state and reduce the budget of "UNRWA" with the aim of eliminating the Agency as a whole,
He stressed that Trump's recent actions require strengthening national unity and circumventing the popular resistance program within the Palestinian territories and moving Arab and international to pursue the occupation.
For his part, Issam Adwan, head of the refugee affairs department of the Hamas movement, told the "New Arab" that the US reduction is the first of its kind in terms of the nature of the support that has been curtailed, although Canada has declined to pay the UN between 2010 and 2015 , But the total amount it provides does not reach half of what America offers.
He pointed out that the US administration aims through the policy of cutting the last "to entrench the Palestinian people to accept the Trump plan," at a time when "UNRWA" from the foundation of the financial crisis on an annual basis. Adwan explained that their estimates on the reduction of US support, it will take an increasing character in the coming years, especially that the current administration, headed by Trump, take clear actions in favor of the Israeli occupation and the plan to liquidate the Palestinian cause.
He ruled out the Trump administration's retreat from the cuts it had made and would try to pressure the Palestinian leadership to take a political stand by creating more crises for it through the institution that handles refugees. He believed that the best way out of the financial crisis facing UNRWA was to go to the United Nations General Assembly to make up for its basic fund deficit, which took place last November.
However, the presence of the Deputy President of the United Nations General Assembly, Danny Danone, led to the deletion of the request and its removal from the agenda of the international organization. But the chances of making this request again remain, especially as Danone's work in this organization will end in six months, according to Adwan.
"The total budget for UNRWA is about $ 1.3 billion, while the US contribution is about 40 percent," said Hossam Ahmed, a researcher on refugee issues. Ahmed pointed out that what is happening now is an attempt to target the Gaza Strip, especially through the creation of more financial crises, especially since the largest presence of the UN institution is in the sector, which suffers from a severe and aggravated Israeli siege since 2006.
The Palestinian researcher pointed out that the sector is the only region that benefit from the emergency program provided by the UN agency, in order to serve a large segment of refugees, especially in light of the deteriorating economic and living conditions of more than two million people in Gaza.
He pointed out that there are Israeli parties are already talking strongly about the need to write off "UNRWA", which emerged following the signing of the Oslo agreement between the PLO and Israel in 1993, through the calls to demand the end of the work of the United Nations. But he ruled out Washington being ready to take the consequences of removing UNRWA as an international institution at this stage, despite the reduction it has imposed on its overall support.
