A seriously overlooked consequence of defunding the entirety of UNRWA, including its operations in Arab countries as proposed by the US Senate: given the instability and fragility of conditions in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, the cessation of UNRWA's services to millions of poor and isolated Palestinians in second-class ghettos will further aggravate tension all around Israel. Without even the bare minimum of support and sustenance provided by UNRWA, millions could become willing recruits for new waves of violence and destabilization in an already inflamed and volatile region.
@afalkhatib Actually, not overlooked. UNRWA for 70 years and with billions and billions of dollars has been unable to achieve its mandate. Time to move on. Let other organizations have a try.
look at this @aayoub liking the Nazi Richard Spencer posts. we keep finding neo- Nazi's and prominent Muslim Arabs... the @thereidout is continuing to say Palestinians and No hamas militants died, she allows Nazis to come on as long as they are Muslim.. you have the worst people representing the Palestinian cause.
In the long run, keeping millions of Palestinians on the dole will not benefit the Palestinians. Palestinians need a big mindset shift. They need to understand they need to support themselves. That trying to kill their #1 trade partners is not a good idea. These mindset shifts will not happen if the current system remains in place. We need something new. Maybe learn from the UAE?
@afalkhatib Disagree. Welfare for a day, a week, or a few months is a safety net in a just world. Welfare for years or decades (or 75 years!) creates learned helplessness, creates a permanent class of donors and donors recipients, and hurts all. Rip off the band-aid.
@afalkhatib 😳. That sounds like extortion! “Fund the agency that radicalized generations into violence & terror, or else we’ll radicalize more people.”
@afalkhatib Not convincing, given the existing levels of antagonism against Israel among Palestinians are already high and probably soaring higher after the Israeli incursion into Gaza.
@afalkhatib What's really amazing is that the UNRWA leadership doesn't quit, even after it's being defunded.
@afalkhatib I’d be fine giving humanitarian and economic assistance to Jordan’s government to distribute. They aren’t refugees though. It might strengthen the govt to put the welfare inside the state rather than the fantasy it shows up magically via the UN from American and German taxpayers
@afalkhatib I would be more sympathetic to this POV if it didn't seem like it was engineered to perpetuate UNRWA and the status of Pals. Why are they ghettoized? Why aren't they citizens of the countries they reside in?
@afalkhatib Isn't UNHCR supposed to be able to scale up capacity very quickly? Couldn't they be ready to step in? I doubt Arab countries are really ready to go to war over this