Trump administration official: UNRWA mandate ‘must be changed’

The Trump administration renewed its attacks on the United Nation’s Palestinian refugee agency yesterday, reported the Jerusalem Post, demanding fundamental changes in its operations.

A senior administration official told the paper that UNRWA’s mandate “has perpetuated and exacerbated the refugee crisis, and must be changed so the Palestinian people can reach their full potential.”

“The US policy regarding UNRWA has been under frequent evaluation and internal discussion. The administration will announce its policy on UNRWA in due course,” the official said.

“UNRWA’s financial situation has been unsustainable for a long time, and for years we have voiced the need for UNRWA to seek out new voluntary funding streams, increase financial burden-sharing among donors, and find ways to reduce expenditures.”

Read: Politicising UNRWA

The Israeli government has long claimed UNRWA “perpetuates” the Palestinian refugee problem, a position that is now being echoed by the Trump White House.

UNRWA is a relief and human development agency which supports more than five million registered Palestinian refugees in the occupied Palestinian territories, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt.