U.S. politicization of humanitarian aid to UNRWA
Published: 28 January 2018 Author: Stefan Talmon
Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which resulted in many Palestinians being forced to flee their homeland, the United Nations General Assembly on 8 December 1949 established the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to carry out direct relief and works programmes for Palestinian refugees in collaboration with local governments. In 2017, UNRWA provided essential services to some 5.3 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip, including running 700 schools and 140 health clinics. The United States has been UNRWA’s single largest donor for decades. In 2017, the United States contributed more than US$360 million to the UNRWA budget. Germany was the Agency’s second largest State donor contributing some US$ 76 million. Germany has also been a member of the UNRWA Advisory Commission since 2005. (more…)