Friday, January 9, 2009

More on UNRWA

Claudia Rosette, a journalist who has specialized in UN affairs, has put together this devastating critique of UNRWA, the UN relief agency that runs the Palestinian refugee camps (last mentioned here). Some highlights from her article:

-- the Palestinian refugee population cared for by UNRWA has swelled from the original 900,000 in 1950 to more than 4.6 million;

-- UNRWA employs more than 24,000 people. That's more than any other UN agency. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency responsible for more than 11 million refugees in all the other countries of the world, has 6,300 staffers. More than 99% of UNRWA staff are local Palestinians.

-- With UNRWA headquarters in Gaza, guess which side it tends to favor in the Mideast conflict?

-- The United States, at $148 million, was the top donor to UNRWA last year.

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