Israeli and Jewish leaders offered praise over the weekend for the US’s decision on Friday to defund the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA.
In a speech at a local school, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Palestinians and the UN had “created a unique institution, 70 years ago, not to absorb the refugees but to perpetuate them. Therefore the US has done a very important thing by halting the financing for the refugee perpetuation agency known as UNRWA. It is finally beginning to resolve the problem.”
Netanyahu added, “The funds must be taken and used to genuinely help rehabilitate the refugees, the true number of which is much smaller than the number reported by UNRWA. This is a welcome and important change and we support it.”
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon also praised the move, saying, “We welcome the US’s decision as UNRWA has proven itself an impediment to resolving the conflict by keeping the Palestinians in perpetual refugee status … It’s about time that the Palestinian leadership abandoned its victimhood and incitement campaign, and takes concrete steps to improve the Palestinians future.”
The Palestinians, as was expected, slammed the US action. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas stated, “70% of the residents of Gaza are refugees. The majority of them live on UNRWA aid. So president Trump says to cancel UNRWA and give humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza. How is it possible to cancel UNRWA on the one hand and give aid to the Palestinians in a humanitarian way on the other?”
Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashwari said, “I would be careful not to gloat over these decisions by the United States, because both peoples will pay the price.”
Palestinian spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh openly threatened the internationalization of the issue, saying, “The Palestinian leadership is checking the possibility of turning to the UN General Assembly and Security Council in order to oppose the US decision on the UNRWA issue.”
The Algemeiner . 2018 . Benjamin Kerstein
{Matzav.com}
