Israel Matzav

US starts year with $55 million contribution to UNRWA

The United States has started 2012 with a $55 million contribution to UNRWA.

The $55 million contribution will provide critical health, education, and humanitarian services to five million Palestinian refugees in the region. Of this contribution, $29 million will support UNRWA’s core services in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza; $24 million will support UNRWA’s emergency programs in the West Bank and Gaza; and two million will support UNRWA’s ongoing relief assistance in Lebanon for those displaced during the 2007 conflict in Nahr al Bared refugee camp.

As UNRWA’s largest bilateral donor, the United States recognizes the critical role the Agency plays in assisting Palestinian refugees and maintaining regional stability and calls upon other donors to enhance their support for UNRWA. The United States encourages UNRWA to maintain the neutrality of its operations, expand its donor base, enhance its strategic communications, and maximize programmatic efficiencies in order to better serve refugees.

Of course, if this were to be all the money the US gives UNRWA this year, it would be a great improvement:

In 2011, the United States provided just under $250 million to UNRWA, including $146 million to its General Fund, $75 million to its West Bank/Gaza emergency programs, $15 million to emergency programs in Lebanon, and $10 million for the construction of five new schools in Gaza, which will serve an estimated 10,000 schoolchildren.

Although the highest US contribution to UNRWA was in 2009 ($268 million), there has been a sharp upward trend in US contributions over the last 20 years.

UNRWA is dedicated to perpetuating the notion that the 'Palestinians' are 'refugees' so long as the State of Israel exists. Unlike the UN High Commission for Refugees, its goal is not to resettle refugees, but to perpetuate their homelessness. UNRWA also employes numerous terrorists on its staff (as I have explained in past posts). It is not worthy of international support.

Labels: Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, US foreign aid

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:30 AM