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THE IRISH GOVERNMENT has condemned the decision by the United States government to halt funding for the United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees.
The US State Department said the organisation was “irredeemably flawed”.
Washington has long been the UN Relief and Works Agency’s (UNRWA) largest donor but is “no longer willing to shoulder the very disproportionate share of the burden,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.
Nauert said there would be no additional contributions beyond a $60 million dollar payment made in January, drawing condemnation from both the Palestinians and UNRWA.
Commenting on the news last night, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said the decision is “shocking” and will make achieving peace more difficult.
Simon Coveney / Twitter
Simon Coveney / Twitter / Twitter
The Tánaiste’s criticism of the move came after another announcement from the US last night – President Donald Trump is to visit Ireland in November.
The visit will be made as part of a visit by Trump to Europe to mark the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the fighting in World War I. The decision to cease funding to UNRWA may now be added to the Tánaiste’s list of concerns to raise with the US President when they meet.
‘Full confidence’
There have been widespread warnings about the impact of a halt to funding from the US, which contributed $350 million to UNRWA’s budget last year.
“We reject and condemn this American decision in its entirety,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement, calling on all countries “to reject this decision and to provide all possible support” to UNRWA.
UNRWA also slammed the US decision, dismissing Nauert’s characterisation of the agency.
UNRWA “expresses deep regret and disappointment at the US’ announcement that it will no longer provide funding to the Agency after decades of staunch political and financial support,” spokesman Chris Gunness wrote on Twitter.
“We reject in the strongest possible terms the criticism that UNRWA’s schools, health centers, and emergency assistance programs are ‘irredeemably flawed,’” he said.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that UNRWA has his “full confidence,” calling on “other countries to help fill the remaining financial gap, so that UNRWA can continue to provide this vital assistance.”
The agency supports some five million registered Palestinian refugees and provides schooling for 526,000 children in the Palestinian territories as well as in camps in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
Fears over funding have already led to warnings from UNRWA that it may have to permanently shut all the 711 schools that it runs after recent temporary closures. UNRWA’s director Pierre Krahenbuhl said earlier this week that the agency needs $200 million to continue its work until the end of this year.
- © AFP 2018 with reporting by Michelle Hennessy.
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So what will you do about it Simon.
@Genius 80s+: virtue signal
@Conor Walsh: spot on
@Genius 80s+: Speak out against it like he his unlike alot of other nations. What else can he do?
@Genius 80s+: I’m sure he’ll have a few strong words with the dotard when he became visits…. Though I won’t be holding my breath
@Conor Walsh: so we will send them billions to compensate is it Simon?
@Genius 80s+: He’ll declare war on the U.S.A. of course. Allied with Paul, The Greens, S/F, Boyd, Mick and Claire they’re in a position to wage total war with every chance of success!!
Unfortunately its difficult to take Simon seriously, he did after all walk away from a huge mess with regard to the homeless problem when he was Minister for Housing and actually lied on national radio with regard to proposed solutions which never materialised. His greatest asset is kicking the can. He did however get himself in the news today with regard to Palestine so you’ve got to give him credit for keeping his profile out there.
@Dave Thomas: Probably roll out that red carpet again. remember auld Noonan standing there as if it was the second coming of Christ, when in reality it was the anti Christ that had arrived instead.
@Conor Walsh: accusing a minister for foreign affairs when they make political statements about the actions of foreign nations of “virtue signalling” is, to put it very simply, bloody idiotic. It’s literally his job. It’s fine if you disagree with him (do you really… though? on this?). But your assertion is stupid.
Funny how they want to stop funding to a nation that danced in the streets celebrating the September 11th attacks .
@Retired Fireman: on a visit to Palestine I saw no signs of agricultural or horticultural. What have they been doing ?
@Tom Molloy: tough to have farmland when the c***s next door keep stealing your land.. we’ve had similar experiences with that.
@Retired Fireman:
GREAT NEWS!
The fake millions of refugees are finally being called out! There’s only 50,000 genuine refugees left. If Palestinians were honest about it, Israel would certainly allow a “right of return”… Unfortunately the Arabs are blagarding on about the return of 5 million which ironically if it actually happened would leave the West Bank and Gaza empty.
Clowns!
@Judean: eh, they are not jake refugees. They were either born in what indie called Israel, or their parentais grandparents were born there. If they are ‘fake’ refugees, what does that make the Jewish people who have returned to Israel/Palestine after almost 2000 years?
@Judean: you are a hand pump. It’s been clearly clarified that you are from our previous conversations. Please stop commenting.
Simon Coveny letting in wave after wave of “refugees” despite the VAST MAJORITY of Irish people not wanting them is more “shocking” to me. Traitor.
@Rocky Stefan: The “VAST MAJORITY” of Irish people don’t want refugees? That’s not true according to polls, such as the one below. Your own personal experience should not be taken as indicative of the entire population: https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/irish-welcome-refugees-but-fear-terrorists-35482869.html
@Rocky Stefan: what ‘wave after wave’ are you talking about? From 2014-18 we’ve accepted 834 Syrian refugees, barely a trickle never mind a wave.
The Zionist lobby is working well.
Will Ireland send some American embassy staff home as a result?
I won’t hold my breath.
@Dave Doyle: To be fair, the US donated $360 million to UNRWA last year alone. That’s more than next 5 top donors combined. ( EU, Germany, UK, Sweden & Saudi Arabia). Abbas and Co.have regularly stated that the US has no business interferring in its affairs. If you rely on that much money, you’ll need to make some concessions. There is no other example of refugees being refugees for 5 generations in the world.
@Clifford Brennan: it’s not that they are relying on all of that money from the US every year it’s that they are pulling out entirely, with insults and offende to boot. It’s very important to remember that, like with many other organisations Trump has criticised over the last couple of years, the amount of money that they donate is decided by them. The US chose to send so much and so the US could choose to send less instead they backed out entirely while once again insulting all other countries involved.
I’m thinking that myself. Can’t get him own country in order but can easily criticise others. Good man Simon!
@Wes Tuite: and tell me this, is his ministry a foreign one or domestic? I’ll give you a hint: Minister for Foreign Affairs.
@Dave O Keeffe: Who is a proven liar, no thanks, can we have a more competent politician in this portfolio instead of this Bilderberg puppet?
I suppose when you think about it, it’s a bit mental funding both sides of the conflict.
@David Walters: Jewish bigwigs who control all aspects of American life would agree and then decree
Not a good start to the day – Trump seems to be intent on attacking the weakest while and at the same time lining the pockets of the rich – why do we allow him to come to Ireland and tarnish the country’s name – surely we have the resolve to repeal him or do we have a backbone at all?
@Brian: He’s the President of the US, we’ve many many jobs here from that country. Also while I support getting funding to the Palestinian refugees. Should the US have to pay for all of it?
@Carol M: the US doesn’t pay for all of it.
@Carol M: the US volunteers itself to be a global constabulary, usually for surest own agenda which can include spying, embedding Pax Americana into countries so they start purchasing US products from food to weapons. Trump is obviously so stupid he wants to pull them away from this role and he’s happy to see Russia do it, wonder why.
@Carol M: US companies operate in Ireland because it’s the best business decision for them (we’re basically a tax haven), they’re not doing ity bity Ireland a favour because of “the special relationship between our two countries” and the US government, executive or legislative branch, did throw us a bone by sending them (google, facebook, apple, etc.) here; it’s a fiscal decision made by the companies.
@Carol M: he’s trying to bring those jobs back to America as well remember?
Not really a comment on this news item but journalism in general as this article is generated in this manner. The number of articles that appear online here, and on the sites of other publications that are wholly based on a tweet is astonishing.
Maybe this is the way things are but it’s quite depressing. There’s been an increase in this since Trump gained power in the US. Whole stories that really have no substance other than quoting a tweet and padding the piece out with explainer of things mentioned in the tweet.
It’s a damning indictment of journalism as a profession. Plummeting sales of papers have been countered by advertising revenue from clicks. Imagine doing 4 years in college and talking about protection of sources etc and then spending your working day looking for tweets.
@Seán C: Media publications are businesses, they need to make a profit. The media has been instrumental in the creation of the mono culture that is building, present the stories that all the sheep will follow and comment on like mindless parrots. One thing about the internet that some people have a good understanding of; and that is that there’s a lot of people out there who are not that smart, yet think they are and they have the capacity to comment on whatever the media decides to make controversial or whatever is ‘rending’ on social media. Stories like this are nothing to do with journalism, they are intended to keep the bucks rolling in. The bottom line is all that matters.
Good man Simon! Probably can’t see anything shocking with the Irish gov, but everybody else can see plenty!
Its absolutely the correct decision as UNRWA is a disruptive organ that harms the prospects for peace, keeps the Palestinians locked in a trap of dependency, and threatens Israel’s security.
This is the first time the Palestinians pay a price for their intransigence. Up to now, they have been encouraged to harden their position every time they refuse a peace deal offered to them by Israel. President Trump by pulling all US funding from UNRWA, will break this twisted logic. The message will be: If you are going to turn down peace proposals, do not expect better ones to follow. Intransigence breeds less negotiating power, not more.
@Stephen Kearon: the UNRWA is a respected United Nations organisation that provides vital services to Palestinian refugees and their families living in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and licing under seige in Gaza. If UNRWA was not providing these services Israel would be obliged to do so under international law, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. The only thing UNRWA is disruptive of is Israel and the US right’s desire to force the Palestinians into a final capitulation that would attempt to legitimise the illegal settlements of the West Bank, ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Israel and the abandonment of any possibility of an independent Palestinian state.
It’s extraordinary that you can talk about Palestinian ‘intransigence’ given the hardline policies of the Netanyahu government. The reality is that the Palestinians have been offered less and less in every round of negotiations. Trump has tried to unilaterally hand East Jerusalem to Israel and is now trying to abolish the right of Palestinian refugees to return to Israel.
The rest of the International community needs to act to protect the Palestinian people from Israel’s continued oppression and violation of international law. Let’s hope we get more than words from Minister Coveney.
@Proinsias Ó Maolchalain: Any reason you omitted the 500k Palestinian refugees in Syria that rely entirely on UNRWA support? No anti Israel angle? No mention of oppression, violations of international law, or the thousands of Palestinians killed there?
@Proinsias Ó Maolchalain: You condemn the oppression, violations of international law, and killings of Palestinians by the Syrian regime, but support the oppression , violations of international law and killings of Palestinians by the Israeli regime? Strange position.
@Gavan Duffy: Comment was for Clifford Brennan.
@Gavan Duffy: No, I asked why he didn’t mention the Palestinians in Syria, who UNRWA also have support. I thought it was a very straight forward comment Gavan.
@Stephen Kearon: ‘Prospects for peace’, Israel’s security’, same old jaded platitudes, this is not a conflict between equals , this is the oppression of a basically defenseless people by a nuclear armed regional superpower. The Palestinian people have been paying the price for the colonization of their country for over seventy years now, this decision is just the latest attempt to ‘ starve them out’. The documents leaked by Al Jazeera, the Palestine Papers, show just how far the corrupt PA have capitulated in their attempts to pacify Israeli aggression. This decision will increase tensions, some elements of the occupying forces have already warned the Israeli government about this.
@Clifford Brennan: No Clifford , it is just another example of the’whataboutery’ we hear so often from supporters of the Israeli government. Do you only consider the mistreatment of Palestinians wrong when it is committed by anyone but Israel?
@Gavan Duffy: No whataboutery at all Gavan. I used his own words to ask why UNRWA supported Palestinians in Syria were unworthy of the comment. UNRWA only support Palestinians after all. AFAIK they are the only people in the world with their own dedicated UN agency.
@Clifford Brennan: Syria is not responsible for the oppression of Palestine – Israel is. (Which doesn’t mean that atrocities have not been carried out by the Syrian government against some Palestinian refugees in Syria). However Clifford’s point has a certain validity: UNRWA carries out work in Syria and Jordan, helping Palestinian refugees who have fled/been expelled from Israel, and that valuable work will also be undermined by Trump’s appalling decision.
@Stephen Kearon: Stephen Kearon
.the paid Israeli Lackey..shut your stupid mouth up…
Nothing is shocking what the US Government get up to just look at Turkey’s Currency the Forced evacuation of Venezuela and even their close Neighbors Canadians Thousands upon Thousands losing their jobs because of Tariffs the US empire is acting just like one !
@Johnny Mason: We better kiss his ass so. We don’t want to be loosing those precious jobs do we.
“The weak crumble, are slaughtered and are erased from history while the strong, for good or for ill, survive. The strong are respected, and alliances are made with the strong, and in the end peace is made with the strong.” Guess which fascist said that and in what decade?
@Tony O’Regan: Benjamin Miliekowski
@Tony O’Regan: Bertie??
@Mahon Slattery: yeah, yesterday on the official Israeli PM twitter, they either don’t realise or care that they sound like totslitsrian fascists. Through the looking glass now.
Sure, they can hate USA for free.
Fine Gael love saying the right things about Palestine but are the only party in Ireland that actually acts against Palestinian interests.
The US sells the apartheit state of Israel plenty of weapons to destroy Palestine, help create and maintain the monster that is Israel and continues to make excuses for it. They should give aid money to Palestine under the circumstances.
U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel
Did you know that
U.S. taxpayers have contributed more to the Israeli defense budget
than Israeli taxpayers
So Trump along with Israel now want to starve the Palestinian refugees
into submission and make them more destitute as if they are not suffering enough.
Trump administration has announced it will cut all US funding for the main UN programme for Palestinian refugees, a move with potentially devastating impacts for five million people who rely on its schools, healthcare, and social services.
The former US negotiator Aaron David Miller tweeted,
“This Trump administration is the first in US history to provide unqualified support to the Government of Israel while waging political/economic war on Palestinians
“The weak crumble, are slaughtered and are erased from history while the strong, for good or for ill, survive. The strong are respected, and alliances are made with the strong, and in the end peace is made with the strong”
Quote above by Netanyahu P.M, ( no it was not Adolf )
Netanyahu forgot to mention
it helps to be militarily backed with money and arms by freedom loving America.
This American support enables Israel to keep the Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank and Gaza on the brink of collapse without quite pushing them over the edge.
The idea here is to drive them out of their own land,keeping them impoverished making it necessary for them to be depend on UNRWA welfare
If the Palestinian refugees protest or even throw stones they are liable to be shot by
Israeli snipers
I note we have “Trump like posters” above demonizing the Palestinian refugees because they are living hand to mouth depending on UNRWA welfare remember this is due to the policies of the Israeli government in the occupied lands.
So now under trump the us is unwilling to resolve the disaster they create. Stay classy America.
Burn American flags but expect the US to foot the bill. Good move America. Palestinians are radicals. I welcome Trump’s visit to Ireland. Finally a strong leader who doesn’t support terrorists.
@Johnny: Palestinians don’t want anyone to foot the bill – they want to be free from the Israeli occupation and have their own state and the refugees want to return to their homes in what is now Israel. There is nothing ‘radical’ about that.
On the other hand, the Netanyahu government thinks that it is ok to kill unarmed medics, journalists and civilian protesters, to turn Gaza into an open air concentration camp and violate international law by stealing land to establish illegal settlements. While perhaps this is not ‘radical’, it is certainly extreme. You say Trump is strong (well I can think of other strong leaders), who doesn’t support ‘terrorism’. But the Israeli state was established by a ‘terrorist’ campaign against Britain and the civilian Arab population.
As Brendan Behan put it, “The man with a big bomb is a statesman, the man with a small bomb is a terrorist”.
@Johnny:
“Finally a strong leader who doesn’t support terrorists”. Trump ,
are you for real ?
Maybe Johnny you did not notice
you need to keep up…. even if only on Fox news
Trump supports the “Israeli apartheid terrorists state” which thinks its OK to shoot unarmed protesters by Israeli snipers.
Well Simon why doesn’t the Irish government step in and make up the short fall,put your money where you’re mouth is
@Paul O Faolain: what is wrong with you? i dont think Ireland had a lot to do with creating the damned mess
I can think of a better word than shocking. We all know that the Irish government will do nothing and say nothing.
have your say