Former Israeli ambassador warns Biden not to resume funding for UNRWA

A former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations has warned the incoming Biden administration not to fund the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Al-Quds Al-Arabi has reported. Ron Prosor also asked Biden not to re-join human rights bodies UNESCO and UNHRC.

Outgoing US President Donald Trump cut funding to UNRWA and withdrew from membership of the two other UN bodies as part of his policy of defending the interests of the colonial-settler state of Israel. Biden has pledged to resume America’s membership of the UNHRC and re-join other international bodies. He has also suggested that donations will resume for UNRWA.

“Not so fast Joe,” said Prosor, who heads a diplomatic institute in Israel, during a discussion with the American Jewish Committee (AJC). He alleged that UNRWA is prolonging the Palestine-Israel conflict by respecting Palestinian refugee status for generations, and brazenly declared that this sort of approach is a kind of instigation against Israel.

Several US analysts have indicated that the pro-Israel lobby has already started to engage with Biden’s transition team in order to secure Israeli interests. It is clear from Prosor’s statements what the priorities of the lobbyists are going to be when Biden is in the White House.

READ: Normalising deprivation through humanitarian aid 

US decision to cut UNRWA funding – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]