Daphne Anson: David Singer On UNESCO, UNWRA, & The Refugee Issue

Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East. (From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Thursday, 24 May 2012

David Singer On UNESCO, UNWRA, & The Refugee Issue

In my previous post I linked to Isi Leibler's must-read article on what he reasonably terms the "Nakba Hoax".

I turn now to another Australian voice on a related theme.

Here, courtesy as usual of the antipodean J-Wire service, is Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer's latest article. It's entitled "Palestine – UNWRA and UNESCO promote a state of confusion".

Writes David Singer:

'A crisis of diplomatic confusion seems to have arisen between two affiliate organizations of the United Nations following the announcement by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNWRA) of its intention to upgrade the dilapidated conditions in some of the refugee camps under its control - rather than taking progressive steps to close them down following recognition of the State of Palestine by UNESCO on 31 October 2011.

The upgrades will take place with the help of German Government funding in improving health clinics, sanitation and advanced education in coordination with local committees in five camps in the West Bank and two in Jordan.

Certainly any improvements to the daily lives of refugees and the abject conditions under which they have lived for the last six decades should be regarded as a welcome initiative.

However the recognition of the State of Palestine by UNESCO – and with it an end to Palestinian homelessness – should have also signalled the beginning of the dismantlement of the refugee camps and a structured program to achieve this humanitarian goal.

The vast resources available to UNWRA should surely now be better employed to assist the permanent resettlement of Palestinian refugees in their newly recognized state. Yet UNWRA has remained silent on implementing any such plans.

One of the camps slated for an upgrade is the Dheishe refugee camp – at present home to 13000 refugees. This camp is situated on the outskirts of Bethlehem in Area A of the West Bank – an area completely under the administrative and military control of the Palestinian Authority.

If there are any areas that can be readily identified as forming part of the newly-recognized state of Palestine – it is those areas that comprise Area A under the Oslo Accords - which currently cover 18% of the West Bank and include 55% of the total Arab population of the West Bank. Not one Jew lives in Area A.

On December 21, 1995, Israeli troops withdrew from Bethlehem and three days later the city came under the complete administration and military control of the Palestinian National Authority in conformance with the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1995.

One could indeed ask why Dheishe refugee camp has not been shut down at any time during the last 17 years of its existence – given that resposibility for the lives of its inhabitants was always under the complete authority and control of the Palestinian Authority.

The reasons profferred till now have been the lack of a Palestinian state to end Palestinian homelessness and a belief that one day the residents would be entitled to return to live in what is now Israel. This latter reason has never been – and will never be – an option that can ever be realised unless the State of Israel itself is dismantled.

The UNESCO decision to recognize the existence of an independent State of Palestine has brought with it an end to claims of Palestinian homelessness. .

Yet Habis al-Aisa - a Dheishe resident – still believes nothing has changed as he laments:

"We’re refugees, and the U.N. should be totally responsible for our needs and our situation, because our status is an international political issue."

Another resident, Othman Abu Omar, comments:

"We hope one day to be done with dependence. Everybody should depend on himself."

Sandi Hilal – the director of UNRWA’s “camp improvement program” in the West Bank – also seems to be under the same misapprehension as to the change in status of those under his charge when adding:

"Improving the daily life of refugees doesn’t jeopardize their right to return back home."

Can the Dheishe occupants still claim the status of “refugees” – now that they have their own State – a goal that has been pursued with international support and diplomacy for the last 19 years?

Does UNWRA’s stated position on the "right to return home" mean "to the UNESCO recognized State of Palestine" – or does it mean "to Israel"? [Emphasis added]

It would appear that UNWRA is having problems comprehending the enormity of the UNESCO decision and the changes that have occurred to the status of those whom it has looked after for 64 years.

The United Nations has recognized as Palestinian refugees those – Palestinian Arabs and their descendants – who registered with UNRWA after fleeing their homes from what is now Israel. They are covered by the U.N. resolutions and eligible to receive the agency’s services even if not resident in the camps, but not if they attain citizenship or asylum in another country.

The Palestinian refugees have enjoyed a special status not accorded to any other refugee groups world wide during the past 64 years. That status is – and has always been – privileged and discriminatory and needs to be ended without delay – especially now that a Palestinian state has been internationally recognized and accepted by the 194 member states of UNESCO.

UNWRA now needs to rise to the challenges and the opportunities the UNESCO decision has presented – and implement a program for the closing of the refugee camps.

UNWRA and UNESCO should be meeting to jointly plan such a humanitarian program to bring the long running and festering issue of the Palestinian refugees to an end.

Whilst UNESCO recognizes the existence of a a Palestinian State and UNWRA apparently does not, one can only conclude that the State of Palestine is rapidly acquiring a reputation for being known as "the State of Confusion".

The sooner the refugee camps start being dismantled – the better the prospects for a resolution of the long running Jewish-Arab conflict in former Palestine.'

9 comments:

Empress Trudy24 May 2012 at 21:52
Even if there were some kind of Palestinian state, the UN and the PLO would ensure that nothing be done to change the status of these so called refugees. It will be a strange state of affairs when or if there is a 'Palestine' and half the residents in it are 'refugees'. I wonder if they will be granted citizenship. I think not and the UN will insist on giving them fake papers that list their citizenship as 'occupied' or something like that. Well in any case, good luck with that, Pals.
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david singer24 May 2012 at 23:00
#Empress Trudy

The UN and the PLO will look completely stupid if they continue to claim the Palestinian Arabs are still homeless -after 194 countries recognized the state of Palestine on 31 October 2011.

This is crunch time for UNWRA. You can't maintain refugee camps presently located in the state of Palestine to house Palestinian Arabs.

Sure - as happened with the Jews - there can be temporary housing in the Palestinian state to meet the immediate resettlement of Palestinian Arabs from their current refugee camps either in Palestine or elsewhere.

But they must be seen as a first and temporary home on the way to complete integration with the existing non-refugee population.

If UNWRA does not begin this program - statehood will prove to be a cynical exercise that could rapidly become undone.
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Ian25 May 2012 at 22:27
OT
No boycott at the globe but they’re anticipating trouble from the philistines.

Next week the Israeli Habima theatre company will perform The Merchant of Venice at the Globe Theatre in London.
In a letter sent this week to ticket-holders, the Globe reserved the right "to refuse admission to anyone we have reason to believe may cause a disruption" and that "any objects or material which could be used in disrupting the performance will be deemed prohibited items".
The organisers warned that individuals who attempted to disrupt the show would be asked to leave and advised that ticket-holders should leave bags at home.
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/freedom-for-me-boycott-for-thee.html
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Ian25 May 2012 at 23:46
OT
More Nakba nonsense the “Khaybar Khaybar” chant and much more was caught on video.
"Nakba Day" protest did more than stop traffic
http://aijac.org.au/news/article/nakba-day-protest-did-more-than-stop-traffic
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Shirl in Oz26 May 2012 at 10:05
Ian..are you in Sydney?
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Islamophobia is a false allegation of prejudice which is deployed to silence rational criticism based on actual facts about attitudes and practices within the Islamic world.
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Europe is today facing a crisis as serious as the confrontation with Nazism. If Western leaders continue behaving like Chamberlain and fail to stand up to this global threat, it could usher in a new Dark Age in which the Judeo-Christian culture is subsumed by primitive barbarism. The writing is on the wall Isi Leibler (12 January 2015)

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The "Apartheid" Slur

The division of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) into three separate areas “A”, “B” and “C” was agreed on by Israel and the PLO pursuant to the Oslo Accords.
95% of the West Bank Arabs live in Areas A and B and their daily lives are under the total administration and control of the PLO since the Palestinian Authority was disbanded by Abbas in January 2013. The PLO has total security control in A and shares security control in B with Israel. Israel has total administrative and security control in C.
Israel is entitled to and will continue to take responsibility for the security of Jews living in the West Bank.
Jews were given the legal right to settle in the West Bank under article 6 of the Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the UN Charter. They did so for decades until they were driven out in 1947 and not able to return there until 1967.
There are Arab roads only in the West Bank that Jews are not allowed to use. Jews are also forbidden from entering Area “A”. Selling land to Jews is forbidden by the PLO under pain of death. The PLO runs the daily lives of 95% of the West Bank Arabs and Hamas runs the daily lives of 100% of the Gazan Arabs. They have been under occupation – and subjugation – by these two evil groups for the last ten years and given no say in their future or any opportunity to elect others to lead them following the disastrous political decisions of their leaders over the past ten years. Hamas and the PLO do not accept the continued existence of a Jewish State and call for its disappearance.
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