United States Giving $40 million to UNRWA

The United States announced on Thursday that its pledge to UNRWA for 2010: $10 million for food and creation of jobs, and another $30 million for "UNRWA's core services," as a press release from the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem stated. Filippo Grandi, the new Commissioner General of UNRWA called this "an example of American commitment to supporting UNRWA and improving the daily lives of Palestinians throughout the region."

Arutz Sheva's coverage of the donation put things in perspective:

"The American funding comes despite a report commissioned by the European parliament, which showed that Hamas terrorists have been chosen by the agency's labor union to oversee its Gaza facilities, which was part of a Canadian decision last month to stop its UNRWA funding."

We at the Israeli Initiative hope that the United States will wake up and stop funding an agency that has been infiltrated by terrorists, and serves to perpetuate conflict in the region, rather than solve it.

Sources:

http://jerusalem.usconsulate.gov/pr020410.html

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/180003

Links Roundup: The Palestinian Refugee Situation

Here is a selection of interesting links we've collected over the past two weeks on URWA and the Palestinian refugees:

• Canada: Revive Refugee Committee - Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon told Israeli President Shimon Peres that he seeks to revive the 1991 multilateral committee to resolve the refugee problem.
• No Way Home: The Tragedy of the Palestinian Diaspora - Judith Miller and David Samuels retell how the Arab countries abandoned their Palestinian brothers, causing and perpetuating the humanitarian tragedy that is the Palestinian refugee issue.
• Blocking UNRWA's Terror Ties - An interview with Middle East analyst Asaf Romirowsky on the UNRWA and its ties to terror.
• No to Even-Handedness - Israel Correspondent Stephen Kramer points out the UN's favoritism towards the Palestinians.