U.N. Ambassador praises U.S. UNRWA decision: ‘Time for this absurdity to end’
“UNRWA has proven time and again to be an agency that misuses the humanitarian aid of the international community and instead supports anti-Israel propaganda," Danon said.
By DANIEL J. ROTHUpdated: JANUARY 17, 2018 16:45Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon speaks at the UNGA(photo credit: Courtesy)
NEW YORK - Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon on Tuesday praised the Trump administration for announcing it would cut funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees.Danon said in press statement that it was time for the “absurdity to end” in how funds provided to the relief agency were being spent on building terrorist infrastructure and teaching Palestinian youth to delegitimize Israel. “UNRWA has proven time and again to be an agency that misuses the humanitarian aid of the international community and instead supports anti-Israel propaganda, perpetuates the plight of Palestinian refugees and encourages hate,” he said. “Just over the last year alone, UNRWA officials were elected to the leadership of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, UNRWA schools denied the existence of Israel, and terror tunnels were dug under UNRWA facilities. It is time for this absurdity to end and for humanitarian funds to be directed toward their intended purpose – the welfare of refugees,” Danon added.Created in December 1949, the agency spearheads a relief and human development program for registered Palestinian refugees who fled or were forced from their homes in the War of Independence in 1948, and their descendants.More than five million such Palestinians are now considered refugees by UNRWA.UNRWA – which operates separately from the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) – is the only agency dedicated to helping refugees from a specific region or conflict.
