{"id":2379577,"date":"2024-12-13T00:53:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T05:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-israelis-are-fed-up-with-the-un-palestinian-refugee-agency-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-12-13T00:55:20","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T05:55:20","slug":"why-israelis-are-fed-up-with-the-un-palestinian-refugee-agency-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-israelis-are-fed-up-with-the-un-palestinian-refugee-agency-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Israelis are fed up with the UN Palestinian \u2018refugee\u2019 agency &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhy-israelis-are-fed-up-with-the-un-palestinian-refugee-agency-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2379577&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/venezuelan-authorities-cancel-passports-of-journalists-and-human-rights-activists-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Venezuelan authorities cancel passports of journalists and human rights activists - Washington Examiner\">article discusses recent actions<\/a> taken \u2062by Israel \u200bagainst the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Israel&#8217;s parliament has passed legislation that bans UNRWA from operating within the country and designates\u2063 it as a terrorist institution. This \u200cmeans Israeli officials would be prohibited from interacting with UNRWA staff. If enforced in January 2025, this law would significantly hinder UNRWA&#8217;s ability to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/momentum-from-dobbs-led-legislatures-all-around-the-country-to-pass-popular-pro-life-laws\/\" title=\"Dobbs&#039; momentum led to pro-life laws passing in legislatures nationwide.\">provide vital services<\/a> \u2064in \u2063Gaza and the west Bank, as the agency relies on Israeli entry permits and\u2064 military coordination.UNRWA has condemned the\u2062 legislation, warning it would disrupt \u2064healthcare, education, and food assistance for Palestinians.<\/p>\n<p>The move comes in response \u200dto allegations that UNRWA has tolerated terrorist activities, particularly\u200b focusing on claims that the \u2062agency has employed individuals linked to militant groups like Hamas. Investigations have revealed that\u200c some UNRWA employees were confirmed \u2063members of these organizations, reinforcing Israel&#8217;s \u200dcriticisms of the agency. The findings have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-set-to-announce-425-million-ukraine-weapons-package\/\" title=\"US to announce 5M Ukraine weapons package.\">raised concerns internationally<\/a>, with some governments \u2062urging Israel to\u2064 respect \u200dits international obligations regarding UNRWA&#8217;s operations. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">controversy highlights ongoing tensions<\/a> regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the role of \u200cinternational aid organizations.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Why Israelis are fed up with the UN Palestinian &lsquo;refugee&rsquo; agency<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1901211\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>JERUSALEM &mdash;<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/israel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Israel<\/a>&lsquo;s Parliament recently passed a law that bans the United Nations Relief and Works Agency from operating inside the country, including East Jerusalem. A second law, also passed in October, categorizes the aid organization as a &ldquo;terror group,&rdquo; which would make it illegal for Israeli officials and state agencies to interact with UNRWA officials.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>That&rsquo;s assuming the government implements the law at the end of January 2025. Without Israeli entry permits and coordination with the Israeli military, UNRWA cannot work effectively in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gaza\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Gaza<\/a> or the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/west-bank\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">West Bank<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>UNRWA, which was created in 1949 to care for Palestinians displaced during the 1948 Middle<br \/>East war, called the legislation &ldquo;outrageous and reprehensible.&rdquo; If implemented, &ldquo;the ban will<br \/>sever essential lifelines &mdash; healthcare, mental health counseling, food assistance, water, education,<br \/>and more,&rdquo; the aid organization said. The governments of several nations warned of<br \/>&ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wake-up-with-the-washington-examiner-biden-defends-his-foreign-policy-cassidy-warns-of-port-strike-consequences-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Wake up with the Washington Examiner: Biden defends his foreign policy, Cassidy warns of port strike consequences - Washington Examiner\">devastating consequences&#038;rdquo<\/a>; and urged Israel to abide by its international obligations and &ldquo;keep<br \/>the reserve privileges and immunities of UNRWA untouched.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Demonstrators in Jerusalem hold a protest against UNRWA on Feb. 5, 2024. (Mahmoud Illean\/AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Knesset vote followed a year of deliberations and mounting evidence that UNRWA ignored Hamas&rsquo;s construction of a tunnel right under UNRWA&rsquo;s Gaza headquarters and knowingly employed terrorists, often in UNRWA&rsquo;s school system.<\/p>\n<p>Two recent independent investigations appear to bolster Israel&rsquo;s claims about UNRWA schools and their role in indoctrinating impressionable students.<\/p>\n<p>An investigation conducted by the<em> New York Times<\/em> published on Dec. 8 found that &ldquo;at least 24&rdquo; people employed by UNRWA in 24 schools were members of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, or another militant group. The majority were principals or deputy principals, and the rest were school counselors, according to records discovered by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza and reviewed by the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The seized records &ndash; coupled with interviews of current and former UNRWA employees, residents, and former students in Gaza &ndash; offer the most detailed evidence yet of the extent of Hamas&rsquo;s presence inside UNRWA schools. In several cases, educators remained employed by UNRWA even after Israel provided written warnings that they were militants,&rdquo; the outlet said. <\/p>\n<p>The fact that the head of Hamas in Lebanon was a school principal and a former head of UNRWA&rsquo;s teachers&rsquo; union in Lebanon only reinforces Israel&rsquo;s contentions, the outlet noted.&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The outlet&rsquo;s findings reinforced much of what UN Watch, a watchdog NGO that monitors all activities at the United Nations, has been reporting for years, based on what UNRWA employees publish on social media, in chat groups, and on the internet. It shares its findings with the U.N., Israel, and other nations.<\/p>\n<p>In a video interview obtained by UN Watch, a boy named Muhanad says he learned about the Palestinian Right of Return in school and &ldquo;that we need to return to our land, that the occupation needs to leave our land.&rdquo; When asked whether his teachers taught him about the Israeli occupation, Muhanad replies, &ldquo;Yes, that they occupied us in 1948.&rdquo; The solution for Jerusalem &ldquo;is to liberate it and expel the Jews from it,&rdquo; he says. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Aya, another UNRWA student, says she was taught &ldquo;that we don&rsquo;t like Israel,&rdquo; that Palestinians will &ldquo;shoot&rdquo; Israelis, and that the martyrs are &ldquo;big heroes.&rdquo; She hopes to become a martyr one day.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been documenting UNRWA teachers routinely celebrating bloody terrorist attacks and glorifying Hitler. They do this on Facebook,&rdquo; UN Watch Director Hillel Neuer told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;If your school principal is a Hamas leader, that&rsquo;s what you&rsquo;re going to learn.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Like Hamas, Neuer said, &ldquo;The goal of UNRWA is to dismantle Israel. UNRWA must be replaced.&rdquo; He rejected claims by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the organization is irreplaceable.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Whenever there is a crisis anywhere else in the world, UNHCR, the U.N. Refugee Agency<br \/>assisting all non-Palestinian refugees goes in, the World Health Organization or UNICEF go in, and care for millions of refugees. The notion that international agencies cannot go in and help in a very small piece of land like Gaza is absurd,&rdquo; Neuer maintained.<\/p>\n<p>Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, does not deny UNRWA&rsquo;s flaws but believes it cannot be replaced immediately. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I recognize entirely that there are a variety of problems with UNRWA,&rdquo; said Alkhatib, a Palestinian who emigrated from Gaza to the U.S. many years ago. &ldquo;UNRWA allowed Hamas to abdicate its responsibility for caring for the people of Gaza. UNRWA got comfortable coordinating with Hamas, they talked through Hamas, they didn&rsquo;t build up firewalls. Hamas used and exploited UNRWA.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Even so, Alkhatib said, Israel must not prevent UNRWA from operating without a viable backup plan. Even if Israel were to somehow secure the cooperation of other large aid organizations by the end of January, he said, much of the burden once shouldered by UNRWA would fall on Israel, especially the IDF.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I am all for ending UNRWA&rsquo;s monopoly over humanitarian aid and service deliveries and preventing it from having an oversized role. The goal must be to breed Palestinian self-sufficiency,&rdquo; he said, adding that as soon as there is a capable non-Hamas government in Gaza, &ldquo;it should provide these services.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>If Alkhatib and Neuer agree on one thing, it is that UNRWA perpetuates Palestinians&rsquo; status as refugees.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think that in the minds of Palestinians, UNRWA is a kind of guarantor of the Right of Return to what today is Israel, which the organization deems sacred and necessary,&rdquo; Alkhatib said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In Jordan, where 2 million people of Palestinian descent have been granted citizenship, &ldquo;why does UNRWA call them refugees?&rdquo; Neuer asked. &ldquo;Why does UNRWA call Palestinians who live in the West Bank and Gaza, which it says is Palestinian land, refugees?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>While UNHCR&rsquo;s role is to resettle refugees, &ldquo;the point of UNRWA is to perpetuate war,&rdquo; Neuer said.<\/p>\n<p><em>Michele Chabin is an Israel-based journalist. Her work has appeared in, among other outlets,&nbsp;<\/em>Cosmopolitan<em>,&nbsp;the<\/em>&nbsp;Forward<em>,&nbsp;<\/em>Religion News Service<em>,&nbsp;<\/em>SCIENCE<em>,&nbsp;<\/em>USA Today<em>,&nbsp;<\/em>U.S. News &amp; World Report<em>, and the&nbsp;<\/em>Washington Post<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1901211\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1901211\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Israel bans UN Palestinian &#8216;refugee&#8217; agency from operating<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3569,"featured_media":2379578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/WB.World_.121824.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4671,46701,32171,23312,32076],"class_list":["post-2379577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-israel","tag-palestinian-refugees","tag-political-commentary","tag-un","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/WB.World_.121824.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3569"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2379577"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2379581,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379577\/revisions\/2379581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2379578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2379577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2379577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2379577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}