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Should the U.S. Cut Aid to the Palestinians?

(ABC-Australia) Peter Wertheim - The UN has one definition for Palestinian refugees, and a completely different definition for all of the world's other refugees, and one agency that deals with Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and a completely different agency to look after all of the other refugees (UNHCR). Fewer than 1% of the people currently served by UNRWA fled from their homes during the 1948 or 1967 wars against Israel. The rest are descendants of refugees, many of whom are natives of other countries or enjoy full citizenship rights or permanent residency. The notion of refugee status being inherited and passed down in perpetuity to remote descendants who have never fled from their homes is without parallel in international law. It is not applied to, nor is it claimed by, any other refugee group. Thus, the UN gives favored treatment to descendants of refugees who happen to be Palestinian. There appears to be no good reason why there is one UN agency and one set of rules for Palestinian refugees and another agency and another set of rules for all of the world's other refugees. The criteria for determining who is a refugee should be standardized so that the same rules apply to everybody. The writer is executive director of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
2018-01-26 00:00:00
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