Funding UNRWA: Are European Taxpayers Being Taken for a Ride?

(Gatestone Institute) Bassam Tawil - If Arab and Muslim countries are so worried about UNRWA and the Palestinian refugees, why don't they step in to fill the vacuum and pay for the loss of U.S. funds? How much are the Arab and Islamic countries contributing to UNRWA? According to statistics released by UNRWA for the year 2017, the U.S. was the No. 1 contributor with $364 million. No. 2 was the EU with $142 million; No. 3 Germany, No. 4 the UK, and No. 5 Sweden. Saudi Arabia was No. 6 with $53.2 million. The oil-rich UAE was No. 15 with $12.8 million. Algeria and Tunisia, whose foreign ministers say they are worried about the U.S. decision, contributed no money. The Islamic Republic of Iran provided only $20,000 to UNRWA between 2008 and 2017. Yet Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani described the U.S. decision as "shameful" and urged all parliaments of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation member-states to condemn the U.S. move.


2018-09-21 00:00:00

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