Biden Admin Cuts Off Life-saving Aid to Palestinians Based on Israeli Allegations

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Scott

Verified User
Sobering story from a few days ago on Mondoweiss, quoting the introduction:

**
January 27, 2024

The State Department has paused funding for UNRWA after the Israeli government accused 12 employees of being involved in the October 7 attack.

By Michael Arria

The State Department paused additional funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after the Israeli government accused 12 UNRWA workers of being involved in the October 7 Hamas attack.

A press statement from State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the Biden administration was “extremely troubled by the allegations.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “to emphasize the necessity of a thorough and swift investigation of this matter.”

UNRWA has already terminated the staffers and opened an investigation into the allegations. “The Israeli authorities have provided UNRWA with information about the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the horrific attacks on Israel on October 7,” said UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini. “To protect the agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay.”

Many have noted that UNRWA provides life-saving aid to more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza.

“Based on unproven allegations alone, the U.S. has cut off funding to UNRWA, one of few groups which provides crucial on the ground aid to Palestinians,” said the antiwar group CODEPINK. “Yet, as Israel commits war crime after war crime, the U.S. continues sending weapons.”

“The US is collectively punishing Palestinians, who rely on UNRWA to survive, based on Israeli allegations against 0.0004% of UNRWA’s staff. Outrageous,” said the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU).

The Biden administration’s announcement comes on the same day that the UN’s top court ordered Israel to prevent genocidal acts Gaza and a U.S. court began hearing a lawsuit accusing Israel of genocide.
**

Full article:
Biden cuts off life-saving aid to Palestinians based on Israeli allegations against UNRWA | Mondoweiss
 
UNRWA: What Is UNRWA, Aid Provider in Gaza Accused of Militant Links


UNRWA denies those allegations and says it took swift action against the employees accused of taking part in the attack. The United States and eight other Western nations that together provided more than half of UNRWA's budget in 2022 nevertheless suspended their funding to the agency.

We oppose axing UNRWA mid-war, senior Israeli official says amid global funding halt
Official clarifies agency should be out of Gaza after war but argues collapsing it now may lead to humanitarian crisis that would force IDF to halt offensive against Hamas

https://www.timesofisrael.com/we-op...raeli-official-says-amid-global-funding-halt/


Frozen U.S. Spending for U.N. in Gaza Is Minimal, State Dept. Says
Just $300,000 is on hold after Israeli claims that UNRWA employees joined the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, U.S. officials say.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/30/us/politics/aid-gaza-israel.html
 
Phoenyx said:
Sobering story from a few days ago on Mondoweiss, quoting the introduction:

**
January 27, 2024

The State Department has paused funding for UNRWA after the Israeli government accused 12 employees of being involved in the October 7 attack.

By Michael Arria

The State Department paused additional funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after the Israeli government accused 12 UNRWA workers of being involved in the October 7 Hamas attack.

A press statement from State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the Biden administration was “extremely troubled by the allegations.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “to emphasize the necessity of a thorough and swift investigation of this matter.”

UNRWA has already terminated the staffers and opened an investigation into the allegations. “The Israeli authorities have provided UNRWA with information about the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the horrific attacks on Israel on October 7,” said UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini. “To protect the agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay.”

Many have noted that UNRWA provides life-saving aid to more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza.

“Based on unproven allegations alone, the U.S. has cut off funding to UNRWA, one of few groups which provides crucial on the ground aid to Palestinians,” said the antiwar group CODEPINK. “Yet, as Israel commits war crime after war crime, the U.S. continues sending weapons.”

“The US is collectively punishing Palestinians, who rely on UNRWA to survive, based on Israeli allegations against 0.0004% of UNRWA’s staff. Outrageous,” said the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU).

The Biden administration’s announcement comes on the same day that the UN’s top court ordered Israel to prevent genocidal acts Gaza and a U.S. court began hearing a lawsuit accusing Israel of genocide.
**

Full article:
Biden cuts off life-saving aid to Palestinians based on Israeli allegations against UNRWA | Mondoweiss
Click to expand...

Maybe they shouldnt attack your neighbors
 
I don't care.

I remember footage of Palestinian civilians celebrating on the streets
after the 2001 attack on the World trade Center.

So many of you seem to have forgotten.

I wouldn't send them a Band Aid.

Spend the money to help the Ukrainians.
 
Most Palestinians are poor, desperate and indoctrinated by those who control what they think and believe.

Pretty much like Trumpers and wokies here in the US.

Hard to completely blame them for celebrating something done against a country they have been brainwashed into believing is "The Great Satan".
 
Guno צְבִי;5885283 said:
UNRWA: What Is UNRWA, Aid Provider in Gaza Accused of Militant Links


UNRWA denies those allegations and says it took swift action against the employees accused of taking part in the attack. The United States and eight other Western nations that together provided more than half of UNRWA's budget in 2022 nevertheless suspended their funding to the agency.

We oppose axing UNRWA mid-war, senior Israeli official says amid global funding halt
Official clarifies agency should be out of Gaza after war but argues collapsing it now may lead to humanitarian crisis that would force IDF to halt offensive against Hamas

https://www.timesofisrael.com/we-op...raeli-official-says-amid-global-funding-halt/
Click to expand...

I find it intresting that a senior Israeli official is now saying they oppose the axing of the UNRWA mid-war now. Perhaps the Israeli government has now realized how bad Israel's role in this axing makes them look? I mean, surely this isn't a good look:

Human Rights Officials Warn Aid Cuts Make Gaza Famine ‘Inevitable’ | The Libertarian Institute

From the article:
**
Before the war, nearly half of Gazans were dependent on UNRWA support. Haneen Harara, a worker at a Dutch non-governmental organization, fears the cuts will cause a disastrous situation. “This will be a catastrophic situation,” she said. “If UNRWA shuts down it will make the situation so much worse. Even before this news there were huge limits on the aid entering Gaza.”

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) explained that if countries UNRWA is a “lifeline” for Palestinians and without funding, “death and suffering” will increase in Gaza. “In the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian crisis has reached catastrophic levels, and any additional limitations on aid will result in more deaths and suffering.” The MSF statement added, “Humanitarian organizations are already grappling to meet even a fraction of the urgent needs in Gaza. Much more aid is required to meet those needs, not less.”
**


Guno צְבִי;5885283 said:
Frozen U.S. Spending for U.N. in Gaza Is Minimal, State Dept. Says
Just $300,000 is on hold after Israeli claims that UNRWA employees joined the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, U.S. officials say.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/30/us/politics/aid-gaza-israel.html
Click to expand...

Amazing how little is apparently needed to stave off some disastrous effects in Gaza when it comes to humanitarian aid. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration is trying real hard to send tons of weapons to Israel:

**
The US is also accelerating arms transfers to Israel in response to Hamas’s October 7 attacks [snip]. Last month, President Joe Biden announced from the Oval Office that he would seek “an unprecedented support package for Israel’s defense” of $14.3 billion. “We’re surging additional military assistance,” he added.

But while Ukraine has never been a traditional recipient of heavy military aid, the US’s most recent support of the Israeli military builds on a long bipartisan American practice. Israel has received about $3 billion annually, adjusted for inflation, for the last 50 years, and is the largest historical recipient of US security aid. The Obama administration in 2016 announced the biggest security assistance package to the country ever, pledging $38 billion for Israel over the next decade. US support has ensured that Israel maintains its qualitative military edge over neighboring Arab countries by having more advanced weapons systems, something Congress wrote into law in 2008.
**

Source:
Most of Israel’s weapons imports come from the US. Now Biden is rushing even more arms. | Vox
 
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Yakuda said:
Phoenyx said:
Sobering story from a few days ago on Mondoweiss, quoting the introduction:

**
January 27, 2024

The State Department has paused funding for UNRWA after the Israeli government accused 12 employees of being involved in the October 7 attack.

By Michael Arria

The State Department paused additional funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after the Israeli government accused 12 UNRWA workers of being involved in the October 7 Hamas attack.

A press statement from State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the Biden administration was “extremely troubled by the allegations.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “to emphasize the necessity of a thorough and swift investigation of this matter.”

UNRWA has already terminated the staffers and opened an investigation into the allegations. “The Israeli authorities have provided UNRWA with information about the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the horrific attacks on Israel on October 7,” said UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini. “To protect the agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay.”

Many have noted that UNRWA provides life-saving aid to more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza.

“Based on unproven allegations alone, the U.S. has cut off funding to UNRWA, one of few groups which provides crucial on the ground aid to Palestinians,” said the antiwar group CODEPINK. “Yet, as Israel commits war crime after war crime, the U.S. continues sending weapons.”

“The US is collectively punishing Palestinians, who rely on UNRWA to survive, based on Israeli allegations against 0.0004% of UNRWA’s staff. Outrageous,” said the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU).

The Biden administration’s announcement comes on the same day that the UN’s top court ordered Israel to prevent genocidal acts Gaza and a U.S. court began hearing a lawsuit accusing Israel of genocide.
**

Full article:
Biden cuts off life-saving aid to Palestinians based on Israeli allegations against UNRWA | Mondoweiss
Click to expand...

Maybe they shouldnt attack your neighbors
Click to expand...

Setting aside the legitimate grievances Palestinians have with Israel, the amount of Palestinians who actually attacked Israeli positions is minimal compared to the total Palestinian population. I found one estimate of Palestinian fighters who infiltrated Israel's borders on October 7th to be around 2,900:

Huge Arsenal Of Weapons Indicate: Hamas Planned To Invade Ashkelon, Kiryat Gat | VINnews

Meanwhile, the Gaza strip population was over 2 million in 2022:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip

Assuming that the 2,900 number is close to the true number, that's around .15% of the Gazan population. It's akin to a few prisoners killing a guard and a few visitors and the prison administration deciding they should bomb the entire prisoner population, cut off their electricity and give them almost no food.
 
NiftyNiblick said:
I don't care.

I remember footage of Palestinian civilians celebrating on the streets
after the 2001 attack on the World trade Center.

So many of you seem to have forgotten.

I wouldn't send them a Band Aid.
Click to expand...

Considering the injustices done to Palestinians by Israel with the help of the U.S., I can understand their frustration, if not their expression of it. Another thing, Palestinians weren't the only ones celebrating that day:

The Dancing Israelis: FBI Docs Shed Light on Apparent Mossad Foreknowledge of 9/11 Attacks | Mind's Eye

And then ofcourse there's this:
Report: Netanyahu Says 9/11 Terror Attacks Good for Israel | Haaretz
 
Nomad said:
Most Palestinians are poor, desperate and indoctrinated by those who control what they think and believe.

Pretty much like Trumpers and wokies here in the US.

Hard to completely blame them for celebrating something done against a country they have been brainwashed into believing is "The Great Satan".
Click to expand...

Not all Palestinians consider the U.S. to be "The Great Satan", but the fact that the U.S. has been aiding and abetting Israel's terrible treatment of Palestinians certianly doesn't help the situation.
 
i have been hard on the alarms for bout 30 years...you had every opportunity to measure up.

Bend Over...this is going to hurt like a MotherFucker.
 
Death and renewal is the warp and wobble of life.

This a death....and death that should not be happening right now....it is here only because of a insane mass refusal to learn.




That's All Right....the Universe has a solution for that.




Bend Over.
 
Jordan Peterson talks about how the West lost the capacity for renewal...to systematically get rid of the trash and invent something better....reinvention as needed.

That it happened is for sure...why it happened even the most wise argue constantly about.

Buckle UP.
 
T. A. Gardner said:
Maybe the Palestinians need to become more competent in their economic and military affairs...
Click to expand...
Hamas is beating the crap out of the IGF. No one expected that. Israel's economy has tanked. There will be a holiday to celebrate the end of the jew state.
 
Some on my grapevine believe that zionism was destined to fail, others say that failing was a choice.....but it has certainly failed....and so Israel is not likely to be around in 20 years.
 
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