Wednesday, June 25, 2008

UNRWA: Barrier to Peace

The United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) was created under the jurisdiction of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the unique responsibility of solely aiding the Palestinians. Due to this special status, the UNRWA perpetuates, rather than resolves, the Palestinian refugee issue, and therefore serves as a major obstacle toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Like no other UN body, UNRWA's definition of refugees includes not only the refugees themselves, but also their descendents. Moreover, refugees keep their status even if they have gained citizenship. UNRWA employs teachers affiliated with Hamas and allows the dissemination of Hamas messages in its schools. The Hamas coup in Gaza of July 2007 has resulted in a Hamas takeover of UNRWA facilities there.

Therefore, UNRWA should be dissolved and its services transferred to more appropriate administering organizations...

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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousJune 26, 2008 at 2:26 AM

    Israeli MP Benny Elon launched a plan called the Israeli Initiative - www.israelinitiative.com which proposes exactly what you suggest - dissolving UNRWA who only perpetuate the Palestinian refugee problem.

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