*TO THINK ANEW. TO ACT ANEW.
JUNE 10, 2021ROSH HODESH* TAMUZ 5771
Director: David Bedein
Now that is a surprising headline.
However, after 4,300 Gaza missile attacks on Israel, with 82% of Gaza in eleven stewing UNRWA refugee camps , here is the proposed revolutionary US government UNRWA legislation**.
Page 914: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/sta_fy22.pdf
(d) UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY.—Prior to the initial obligation of funds for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the Secretary of State shall report to the Committees on Appropriations, in writing, on whether UNRWA is—
(1) utilizing Operations Support Officers in the West Bank, Gaza, and other fields of operation to inspect UNRWA installations and reporting any inappro- priate use;
(2) acting promptly to address any staff or beneficiary violation of its own policies (including the policies on neutrality and impartiality of employees) and the legal requirements under section 301(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961;
(3) implementing procedures to maintain the neutrality of its facilities, including implementing a no-weapons policy, and conducting regular inspections of its installations, to ensure they are only used for humanitarian or other appropriate purposes;
(4) taking necessary and appropriate measures to ensure it is operating in compliance with the conditions of section 301(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and continuing regular reporting to the Department of State on actions it has taken to ensure conformance with such conditions;
(5) taking steps to ensure the content of all educational materials currently taught in UNRWA-administered schools and summer camps is consistent with the values of human rights, dignity, and tolerance and does not induce incitement;
(6) not engaging in operations with financial institutions or related entities in violation of relevant United States law, and is taking steps to improve the finan- cial transparency of the organization; and(7) in compliance with the United Nations Board of Auditors’ biennial audit requirements and is implementing in a timely fashion the Board’s recommendations.
Conclusion: The proposed US criteria to renew UNRWA funding complements URI, the UNRWA REFORM INITIATIVE. which our agency has advanced over the past twenty years:
https://israelbehindthenews.com/2019//02/six-policy-challenges-to-guide-unrwa-policy-reform/
The question remains: Will UNRWA accept the US policy guidelines or the Bedein principles for UNRWA policy overhaul?
However, from six meetings with the senior staff of the UN Secretary General’s office over the past four years, we understand that the donor nations to UNRWA are mandated by the UN to detemine UNRWA policy.
US Secretary of State Blinken is be praise for leading the way for UNRWA inspect and disarm UNRWA facilities, including underground tunnels.
My it be God’s will that the other UNRWA donor nations follow the lead of the US.https://israelbehindthenews.com/2021/02/10/unrwa-donor-nations-2020/
**59 UNRWA refugee camps are spread throughout the Middle East, where five million descendants of the Arab refugees from the 1948 war have lingered for seventy three years
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David Bedein is an MSW community organizer and investigative journalist who heads the recently incorporated Nahum Bedein Center for Near East Policy Research.
Bedein has covered UNRWA since 1987, based at the Beit Agron Center in Jerusalem since that time.
His sites: www.IsraelBehindTheNews and UNRWA-Monitor.com.
David operates a team of Arab and Jewish journalists who have examined all school books supplied to UNRWA by the Palestinian Authority – while covering the inner workings of UNRWA, filming 14 short movies shot on location. David is the author of UNRWA: ROADBLOCK TO PEACE and THE GENESIS OF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY.