Fourth Committee

Benjamin Sharoni – State of Israel

November 7, 2013

Good morning.

At the outset, I would like to once again thank Commissioner General Filippo Grandi for his briefing.

Mr. Chair,

Israel supports the humanitarian mission of UNRWA and abides by the understandings expressed in the 1967 Comay-Michelmore Exchange of letters.  We recognize UNRWA’s important contribution to the welfare of the Palestinian refugees and their descendants.  However, Israel deeply opposes UNRWA’s political agenda.

Mr. Chair,

Listening to the delegations that spoke already, it’s clear that some states are so busy accusing Israel of a great injustice, that they can’t see the real injustice – the politicization of the refugee issue.

Every refugee in the world falls under the jurisdiction of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.  However, the Palestinian refugees - and only the Palestinian refugees – are treated to exclusive service at the UN.   They have their own set of rules, their own funding and of course, their own international agency - UNRWA. 

According to the UNHCR, you are only a refugee if you have fled from your homeland and you lose your refugee status if you become a citizen of another country.   Yet neither of these rules applies to the Palestinian refugees and their descendants.  Palestinians receive life-long membership as a unique class of refugees.  And if this wasn't enough, their refugee status is transferred to their children.

All this explains how the number of Palestinian refugees ballooned from approximately 700,000 in 1948 to over five million today.  And it explains why the number of Palestinian refugees is projected to exceed 6 million by 2020.

It’s worth noting that when UNRWA was established, its mandate included the task of resettling refugees. But the mandate was amended in 1965 to remove this important function.  Today, many of the Palestinian refugees and their descendants do not live in refugee camps.  Yet they continue to be counted as refugees by UNRWA and are receiving benefits including free health care and education.

If we were to apply UNHCR’s standards to count the number of Palestinian refugees worldwide, the figure drops to fewer than 50,000.   But the Palestinian refugees aren’t counted using the UNHCR standards; they are counted using  double standards.

This double standard reinforces the Palestinian leadership’s so-called "claim of return" for millions of Palestinians.  It is a non-starter and it flies in the face of basic logic and arithmetic.  Make no mistake: this issue is the single greatest obstacle to peace.

If all this wasn’t enough, the education system is deliberately perpetuating the Palestinian refugees' status. From the earliest ages, Palestinian children are taught that the only solution is the so-called "right of return."   Many UNRWA camps are decorated with keys, symbolizing this "right of return." Young children are taught that these keys will one day open doors for them – but in truth, these keys have them locked in a distorted reality.

Mr. Chair,

Instead of extending their hand and assisting the Palestinian refugees, the Arab states believed that the creation of UNRWA released them of any responsibility.  They passed discriminatory laws that prevented Palestinian refugees from working in certain professions.  In Lebanon for example, Palestinian refugees are barred from working as doctors, dentists, lawyers, engineers or accountants. 

So who exactly is picking up the tab?  Many of the states that have used this debate to criticize Israel have done little to support UNRWA or Palestinian refugees. The region is saturated in petrol dollars, but the funds mysteriously dry up when it comes to assisting Palestinians and subsidizing UNRWA. 

Scan the list of top funders and you will find that not a single Arab or Muslim country appeared in the Agency’s top ten donors list.  While the Arab countries are the first to offer empty words, they have yet to take any meaningful action.  The fact is that 90% of UNRWA’s funding comes from western countries.  

Recent developments in our region have stretched UNRWA’s budget.  At the same time, one has to remember that UNRWA’s mandate creates the following paradigm:

UNRWA spends money keeping Palestinian refugees in camps without resettling them – thereby perpetuating their status as refugees.  

As a result, the problem is only intensified, the number of Palestinian refugees expands, and once again UNRWA appeals to its donors for more money.

And what about the Palestinian leadership?  They seem content to use this population as political pawns rather than doing everything in their power to create a better future for them.

Mr. Chair,

While balancing the need to uphold its security, Israel is doing its utmost to facilitate UNRWA’s operations.  The facts on the ground speak for themselves.  In the past two years, working relations with the agency’s office in the West Bank have improved.  The vast majority of UNRWA's requests are approved as soon as possible and UNRWA has unrestricted access to Israeli officials, at all levels.  This is in clear contrast with the text of the resolutions that this committee will soon vote upon.

Israel has gone to great lengths to extend humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people while fostering conditions for their economic growth.  To date, Israel has approved 261 projects funded by the international community, 114 of which are UNRWA projects.

Last year, the number of trucks crossing into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom terminal grew to over 57,500. This includes over 15,000 trucks carrying construction material for projects funded by the international community. 

Here in this hall, we have heard representatives ask Israel to assist the Palestinians by allowing construction materials into the Gaza strip.  Surprisingly, many of the countries that have made an emotional appeal on behalf of the Palestinians have not said a single word criticizing the Palestinians when these construction materials are abused instead of used.

Last month, the IDF discovered a terror tunnel that ran for two kilometers - originating in Gaza and ending just outside an Israeli community – not far from homes, kindergartens and playgrounds.   The tunnel was built by Hamas using 500 tons of cement that had been earmarked for construction.  To understand how much that is, the Statue of Liberty weighs 225 tons.  Instead of building houses, Hamas is building smuggling tunnels.  And instead of building schools, they are building terror networks. 

Mr. Chair,

It is time to stop making destructive statements against Israel.  First and foremost, it’s time to amend UNRWA’s mandate. It is time for those who care about peace in our region to say that a double standard is a troubled standard. 

By supporting the so-called right of return, UNRWA’s mandate is perpetuating the Palestinian refugee issue and undermining the realization of a lasting peace.   The time has come for permanent solutions rather than another round of biased resolutions.  The time has come to amend UNRWA’s politicized mandate so that people come before politics.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.