From time to time, the Palestine Center distributes articles it believes will enhance understanding of the Palestinian political reality. The following article by Ben White was published in The Independent on January 17, 2018.
As with the decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, US President Donald Trump surely had his electoral base in mind when deciding to slash funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which looks after Palestinian refugees.
Trump’s decision, however, can not be divorced from a long-standing Israeli animus towards the agency, whose current difficulties have been broadly welcomed by Israeli politicians – including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli officials and pro-Israel groups make two main arguments in their attacks on UNRWA: Palestinian refugees are “fake” and the UN agency “perpetuates” the conflict.
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The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Jerusalem Fund.
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