Jordan says UN’s extension of UNRWA’s mandate shows support for rights of “Palestinian refugees”.
UNRWA school in eastern Jerusalemon Saturday hailed a decision by the UN General Assembly to extend the mandate of UNRWA, the UN agency for “Palestinian refugees” until 2023.
A spokesperson for Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates quoted by the Xinhua news agency said that the decision represents a genuine support to the Palestinian refugees’ right.
“The decision supports Palestinian refugees’ right to live in dignity especially that their cause is one of the top final-status issues that have to be resolved in line with the international legitimacy resolutions, mainly UN Resolution 194 and the Arab Peace Initiative,” the spokesperson said.
Stressing that Jordan will continue supporting UNRWA, he added that the vote is a clear message and reaffirmation by the international community on the need to maintain the agency’s works.
The United Nations on Friday extended UNRWA’s mandate which was due to run out in June 2020. 169 countries approved a renewal up to 2023. The US and Israel voted against and nine countries abstained.
Created in 1949, UNRWA supplies aid to more than three million of the five million registered “Palestinian refugees” in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and territories assigned to the Palestinian Authority.
However, it is also notorious for its anti-Israel activities. During the 2014 counterterrorism Operation Protective Edge, Hamas rockets were discovered inside a school building run by UNRWA.
Likewise, a booby-trapped UNRWA clinic was detonated, killing three IDF soldiers. Aside from the massive amounts of explosives hidden in the walls of the clinic, it was revealed that it stood on top of dozens of terror tunnels, showing how UNRWA is closely embedded with Hamas.
More recently, a UN ethics report alleged mismanagement and abuses of authority at the highest levels of UNRWA, including involving UNRWA’s top official, Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl, who eventually resigned over the allegations.
The US, which was previously UNRWA’s largest contributor, last year cut a full $300 million in funding to the agency, leaving it strapped for cash and asking other countries to help fill the gap.
The agency’s officer-in-charge said recently that UNRWA is facing the worst financial crisis in its history and has a budget deficit of $332 million.
Jordan’s support of the Palestinians needs to be rewarded by a strong campaign to recognize Jordan as Arab Palestine supported by a powerful , economically incentivized, emigration to Jordan.