BICOM

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the US two weeks ago that he supported the plan to cut UNRWA funding, without consulting security officials.

Israel’s Channel 10 News reported yesterday that four senior Israeli officials said that, until a few weeks ago, Israeli policy was to oppose a complete funding cut, especially in the Gaza Strip, due to fears of a humanitarian crisis and the security issues it could raise. However, Netanyahu unilaterally decided the best approach would be for the US to cease funding UNRWA entirely and conveyed this message to the Trump administration through Israel’s Ambassador to the US, Ron Dermer.

The Jerusalem Post adds that senior Israel Defence Forces (IDF) officers also fear that US funding cuts will destabilise the West Bank. According to one official: “If UNRWA schools shut down, those who would otherwise be in a classroom will start attacking Israelis.” He also said that children would be more likely to participate in rock-throwing, which can be deadly.

On Friday the Trump administration announced it was no longer willing to fund UNRWA, citing the “irredeemably flawed operation” of the agency as well as its unsustainable business model and fiscal practices. Instead, the US said it would intensify dialogue with the UN, host nations of Palestinian refugees and all other stakeholders about new models and new approaches, which may include direct bilateral assistance from the US and other partners.

UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness described the agency as ‘a force for regional stability’ and said the US decision was ‘deeply regrettable’ as ‘one of the most disadvantaged, marginalised and vulnerable people on this planet are likely to suffer’.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the US decision ‘does not serve peace but rather strengthens terrorism in the region’ and urged the UN to take a ‘firm stand’ against the decision. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said his country regrets the US decision, saying that it will ‘consolidate an environment of despair that would ultimately create fertile grounds for further tension’.