{"id":140860,"date":"2018-02-12T17:26:16","date_gmt":"2018-02-12T17:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=140860"},"modified":"2018-06-13T10:04:57","modified_gmt":"2018-06-13T14:04:57","slug":"palestine-refugees-eu-parliament-urges-us-to-reconsider-decision-to-withhold-unrwa-funding-press-release","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/palestine-refugees-eu-parliament-urges-us-to-reconsider-decision-to-withhold-unrwa-funding-press-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Palestine Refugees: EU Parliament Urges US to Reconsider Decision to Withhold UNRWA Funding – Press Release"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a non-United Nations document. The United Nations provides these documents only as a convenience for reference purposes, and the inclusion of a document does not imply the endorsement of its content by the United Nations.<\/strong><\/p>\n

12-02-2018\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"Joint\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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Federica Mogherini during the plenary debate on 6 February<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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To stem the impact of a reduction in US funding, Parliament is calling on the EU to mobilise additional finance for the UN agency for Palestine refugees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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MEPs are calling on the US to reverse its recent decision to withhold $65 million in funding to\u00a0Unrwa<\/a>, the UN agency for Palestine refugees. In a\u00a0resolution<\/a>\u00a0adopted on 8 February, they also encourage the EU and its member states to mobilise additional funding for the agency and urge Arab states to contribute more.<\/p>\n

Established in 1949, Unrwa provides essential services for some five million Palestine refugees dispersed across the Middle East. In a plenary debate on 6 February, the EU’s foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini\u00a0noted<\/a>\u00a0the \u201ckey political contribution that Unrwa brings to the prospect of relaunching a credible peace process\u201d. She also stressed that \u201creducing the agency\u2019s activities would cause instability and even security threats all around the region\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother blow to the Middle East peace process\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Neoklis Sylikiotis<\/a>, chair of Parliament\u2019s\u00a0Palestine delegation<\/a>, said: \u201cThe provocative decision of the US is yet another blow to\u00a0the Middle East peace process<\/a>,\u201d adding \u201cthe Trump administration has already led the peace process into a dead end by recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking in the same debate, European Commissioner Johannes Hahn\u00a0stressed<\/a>: \u201cThe EU and its member states are by far the largest provider of assistance to Palestine refugees.\u201d He announced that the EU would fast track a payment of \u20ac82 million to Unrwa by the end of this month. This is in addition to a new\u00a0\u20ac42.5 million assistance package<\/a>\u00a0for Palestinians announced on 31 January.<\/p>\n

Slovenian ALDE member\u00a0Ivo Vajgl<\/a>\u00a0described the work of Unrwa as \u201cindispensable\u201d and said that Donald Trump\u2019s recent move to withhold funding would be a \u201chuge obstacle to further progress\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking on behalf of the EPP group, Spanish member\u00a0Jos\u00e9 Ignacio Salafranca S\u00e1nchez-Neyra<\/a>\u00a0told MEPs: \u201cWe are talking here about people, millions of people. Two million refugees in Lebanon, almost half a million in Jordan, 540,000 in Syria, 1.4 million in the Gaza Strip, 800,000 in the West Bank. These are people whose basic needs have to be dealt with, children whose futures are at stake.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unrwa\u2019s \u201cextraordinary efforts\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Also speaking in the debate, Hungarian Greens\/EFA member\u00a0Tam\u00e1s Meszerics<\/a>\u00a0said: \u201cWe need to engage with the peace process, because otherwise Unrwa will remain in place indefinitely and that is the worst possible outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elena Valenciano<\/a>, a Spanish member of the S&D group, described the need \u201cto send out a message of hope in a region of the world where there are not many such messages\u201d.<\/p>\n

In the\u00a0resolution<\/a>\u00a0adopted by MEPs on 8 February, Parliament applauded Unrwa for its \u201cextraordinary efforts\u201d and expressed concern that any reduction or delays in funding could result in \u201cdamaging impacts on access to emergency food assistance for 1.7 million Palestine refugees and primary healthcare for three million, and on access to education for more than 500,000 Palestinian children\u201d.<\/p>\n

Members also welcomed the decision by the EU and several of its member states to fast track funding to the agency, but called on Unrwa to ensure that its facilities are not misused.<\/p>\n

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\"Palestinian\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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Palestinian Bedouin camp with the Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim in the background<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Jerusalem as capital of both Israel and Palestine<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Before Christmas, in a move that was widely condemned as a violation of international law, US President Donald Trump\u00a0recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel<\/a>. In the vote on 8 February, Parliament reiterated that the EU\u2019s objective is to bring about a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.<\/p>\n

In December 2014, MEPs\u00a0voted overwhelmingly<\/a>\u00a0in support of the “in principle recognition of Palestinian statehood”. In a\u00a0resolution on the EU’s 2018 budget<\/a>, MEPs called for more support for the Middle East peace process, the Palestinian Authority and Unrwa.<\/p>\n

Click here for more information on Parliament\u2019s role in the Middle East peace process.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What is Unrwa?<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n