Richard Goldberg
FDD, Feb. 7, 2024
“The goal is not to improve people’s lives; it is to keep them in a state of insecurity and instability for which they are encouraged to hold Israel responsible. This is the only reason UN officials and some Western political leaders falsely claim that no alternatives exist.”
Last week, Australian foreign minister Penny Wong indicated that Canberra may soon resume government funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), despite mounting evidence that the organization is a Hamas subsidizer, employer, and collaborator. The agency has long been a focus of criticism and controversy, but funding was at last suspended by Australia, the UK, the US, and other donor countries following allegations that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7 massacre of Israeli civilians last year.
However, if Australian funding of UNRWA is resumed, and if other donors follow suit, it would be a disaster—not just for Israel, but for Palestinians, too. Wong claims that only UNRWA is able to distribute humanitarian assistance to Palestinians living in Gaza, but there are many alternatives. If the Australian government wants to prevent another October 7 massacre and support the dignity of the Palestinian people, it will end its support of UNRWA for good and send money instead to the alphabet soup of agencies capable of replacing it.
Addressing the myriad challenges presented by UNRWA starts by recognizing what UNRWA is and what it is not. … [To read the full article, click here]