Peter Hansen must have learned well from the Palestinians whom his United Nations agency claims to serve: Create your own problems, complain to the media about your plight and blame Israel.
His organization ? the United Nations Relief and Works Agency ? is on the verge of running out of money to feed 1.1 million people in the West Bank and Gaza. A February 11 New York Times account related that the agency has relied on an emergency fund to supply growing needs for food, shelter and jobs in the territories since the current war began, 28 months ago.
In the last two months, the agency has received a commitment of $1.5 million out of the $94 million it has sought in donations to replenish the emergency fund. Hansen, who is UNRWA?s commissioner general, attributed the dearth of donations to uncertainty about aid needs after a possible war in Iraq and other crises around the world. Yet, he did concede that the current conflict in Israel might be producing what the Times dubbed ?donor fatigue.?
The United Nations can take some credit for the war?s persistence. A terrorist network sprouted up in the Jenin refugee camp right under the noses of UNRWA staff. A number of suicide bombers who murdered Jews in Israel proper, were known to have operated out of the Jenin camp. Israeli soldiers discovered a virtual fortress in Jenin during their controversial raid last April, and Israeli officials claimed that UNRWA never reported the militant presence to the UN. If they did report it to the UN, no known steps were taken to stop it. UNRWA officials had said they reported the matter to the Palestinian Authority police, which would not guarantee appropriate action. Of course, the UN?s failure to take sufficient steps to rid the camp of the terrorist set-up contributes to the violence, which, in turn, has led to the drying-up of funds.
Hansen seems ready to sing ?Do cry for me, Palestine.? Rations have already been cut to 120,000 families in Gaza and he feared what might happen if further cuts are made. ?In political terms, it will send a message to the refugees that they have been forgotten, and they will feel betrayed,? he said.
Whose fault is that? Israel didn?t sit idly by while terrorists established an armed nest in a camp operated by Hansen?s agency.
It doesn?t help anyone for UNRWA to go out of business. Even the Israelis want them to continue their mission of feeding Palestinian refugees and providing other social services. Hopefully, Israel and the Palestinians one day will reach a peaceful settlement and UNRWA won?t be needed. In the meantime, though, it is counterproductive for UNRWA to facilitate, by its silence at least, the continuation of terrorist activities. In fact, Israel claims that UNRWA?s silence is only part of the story. They believe that some UNRWA staff members themselves double as participants in the terrorist network.
Hansen doesn?t stop wailing about UNRWA?s financial condition. The Times account reads that workers for agencies that provide services to the Palestinians ?complain that they are in effect enabling Israel?s military control over the territories by softening what might otherwise be intolerable conditions, or by providing services that Israel might otherwise have to finance.?
?The question,? said Hansen, ?is raised more and more frequently: Are we financing the occupation??
That he uses the term ?occupation? makes clear where his sympathies lie. One needs to ask: Who is the occupier? Is this Israeli or Palestinian land? Of course, many Jews to the right think there is nothing to question. Others, like myself, would differ by considering it disputed land. But why should Israel pay any money? Why even should the UN or the Palestinian leadership? Why not the Arab countries, which have reportedly pulled in trillions of dollars from oil? As other Arab countries call for liberation of the Palestinians, this funding crunch will give the wealthier Arab nations a golden opportunity to literally put their money where their mouths are.
After all, they initiated the practice of creating their own problems and then blaming Israel.
--------------------------------------------------------
Bruce S. Ticker is a freelance writer and former journalist living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He can be reached at Brucetic@aol.com.
His organization ? the United Nations Relief and Works Agency ? is on the verge of running out of money to feed 1.1 million people in the West Bank and Gaza. A February 11 New York Times account related that the agency has relied on an emergency fund to supply growing needs for food, shelter and jobs in the territories since the current war began, 28 months ago.
In the last two months, the agency has received a commitment of $1.5 million out of the $94 million it has sought in donations to replenish the emergency fund. Hansen, who is UNRWA?s commissioner general, attributed the dearth of donations to uncertainty about aid needs after a possible war in Iraq and other crises around the world. Yet, he did concede that the current conflict in Israel might be producing what the Times dubbed ?donor fatigue.?
The United Nations can take some credit for the war?s persistence. A terrorist network sprouted up in the Jenin refugee camp right under the noses of UNRWA staff. A number of suicide bombers who murdered Jews in Israel proper, were known to have operated out of the Jenin camp. Israeli soldiers discovered a virtual fortress in Jenin during their controversial raid last April, and Israeli officials claimed that UNRWA never reported the militant presence to the UN. If they did report it to the UN, no known steps were taken to stop it. UNRWA officials had said they reported the matter to the Palestinian Authority police, which would not guarantee appropriate action. Of course, the UN?s failure to take sufficient steps to rid the camp of the terrorist set-up contributes to the violence, which, in turn, has led to the drying-up of funds.
Hansen seems ready to sing ?Do cry for me, Palestine.? Rations have already been cut to 120,000 families in Gaza and he feared what might happen if further cuts are made. ?In political terms, it will send a message to the refugees that they have been forgotten, and they will feel betrayed,? he said.
Whose fault is that? Israel didn?t sit idly by while terrorists established an armed nest in a camp operated by Hansen?s agency.
It doesn?t help anyone for UNRWA to go out of business. Even the Israelis want them to continue their mission of feeding Palestinian refugees and providing other social services. Hopefully, Israel and the Palestinians one day will reach a peaceful settlement and UNRWA won?t be needed. In the meantime, though, it is counterproductive for UNRWA to facilitate, by its silence at least, the continuation of terrorist activities. In fact, Israel claims that UNRWA?s silence is only part of the story. They believe that some UNRWA staff members themselves double as participants in the terrorist network.
Hansen doesn?t stop wailing about UNRWA?s financial condition. The Times account reads that workers for agencies that provide services to the Palestinians ?complain that they are in effect enabling Israel?s military control over the territories by softening what might otherwise be intolerable conditions, or by providing services that Israel might otherwise have to finance.?
?The question,? said Hansen, ?is raised more and more frequently: Are we financing the occupation??
That he uses the term ?occupation? makes clear where his sympathies lie. One needs to ask: Who is the occupier? Is this Israeli or Palestinian land? Of course, many Jews to the right think there is nothing to question. Others, like myself, would differ by considering it disputed land. But why should Israel pay any money? Why even should the UN or the Palestinian leadership? Why not the Arab countries, which have reportedly pulled in trillions of dollars from oil? As other Arab countries call for liberation of the Palestinians, this funding crunch will give the wealthier Arab nations a golden opportunity to literally put their money where their mouths are.
After all, they initiated the practice of creating their own problems and then blaming Israel.
--------------------------------------------------------
Bruce S. Ticker is a freelance writer and former journalist living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He can be reached at Brucetic@aol.com.