“International aid funds do not help the Arabs of Judea and Samaria, but rather the corrupt leadership there. It aids the families of terrorists. US Cuts Over $200 Million in Assistance to the Palestinians. Exposing the administration’s plan to revoke the demand for the right of return is an important and historic phase in exposing the lie that has been prevalent for decades.” -Israeli Science and Technology Minister, Ofir Akunis

Mati Tuchfeld : Aug 27, 2018 : JNS.org

airlift(Washington, DC)—[JNS.org] Israeli officials welcomed reports Sunday indicating that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to act to end the Palestinian demand for a right of return and to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, a move they say is in line with Israeli policy. (Photo: Israeli Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Ze’ev Elkin addresses the Israeli government’s inaugural Christian Media Summit/Credit: GPO/via JNS.org)

A diplomatic official dismissed the criticism of a defense official who had been quoted as saying the U.S. decision “could set the area, which is already on the verge of a conflict, on fire.”

“The tendency of certain officials in the defense establishment to fear everything, and sometimes align themselves with pro-Arab organizations that act against Israel, is alarming,” the diplomatic official said. “The defense establishment’s job is not to replace the diplomatic echelon, but rather to ensure the safety of the citizens of the State of Israel using our own resources. They needn’t go looking for sub-contractors that engage in incessant anti-Israel propaganda.”

Jerusalem Affairs Minister Zeev Elkin welcomed the U.S. administration’s “justified decision,” saying it “finally speaks the truth to the Arab lie that has been marketed all over the world for decades.”

“The solutions for the challenges facing those currently living in various Arab countries can be found in those countries. There is no reason for them to dream of returning here,” Elkin said.

“The State of Israel was, is and will always be the national homeland of the Jewish people, on the grounds of 2,000 years of history as well as its official status since the days of the Balfour Declaration.

“For many years, the UNRWA organization artificially perpetuated the Arab problem to use it as a tool to batter the State of Israel, and it should have long since passed from the world.

“This example [of the U.S. cutting aid] proves that when Israel believes in its path, and when the Israeli public unites behind our national interests, ultimately, the world concedes the truth and comes around to our position. That is happening now with the [Palestinian] right of return, it happened with the decision to relocate the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and it will happen in other areas if we show enough determination.”

Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis also lauded the Trump administration for “finally putting an end to the Arab lie.”

“International aid funds do not help the Arabs of Judea and Samaria, but rather the corrupt leadership there. It aids the families of terrorists,” he said. “Exposing the administration’s plan to revoke the demand for the right of return is an important and historic phase in exposing the lie that has been prevalent for decades.”

Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan said, “The funds, which are undoubtedly going to fund the Hamas terror regime in Gaza instead of going toward rehabilitating the [Gaza] Strip, are used to produce rockets, dig terror tunnels and build up [Hamas’] terror forces that act against Israel and its citizens. The aid must be cut.”

Likud MK Sharren Haskel, who chairs the Knesset’s Lobby for Reform With UNRWA, accused the organization of “raising generations of refugees and straying from its original role of resolving the refugee problem.”

Referring to the fact that UNRWA assigns refugee status to the descendants of displaced individuals, Haskel said,” The organization’s definition of a refugee is unlike that of any other organization in the world.”

[Reprinted with permission of JNS.org]

US Cuts Over $200 Million in Assistance to the Palestinians

News Staff : Aug 27, 2018 : JNS.org

The funds will be directed toward “high-priority projects elsewhere.”

(Washington, DC)—[JNS.org] The Trump administration has cut over $200 million to the Palestinian Authority, succeeding a review of projects in Gaza and the West Bank, according to U.S. officials and congressional aides. (Photo: President Donald Trump and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 3, 2017/Credit: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead/via JNS.org)

Congress was notified by the State Department on Friday, according to the officials and aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were unauthorized to discuss the move publicly ahead of the formal announcement.

The funds will be directed toward “high-priority projects elsewhere,” according to a three-paragraph notice sent to lawmakers from the department, as obtained by the Associated Press.

“At the direction of President Trump, we have undertaken a review of U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with U.S. national interests and provide value to the U.S. taxpayer,” the department said. “As a result of that review, at the direction of the president, we will redirect more than $200 million … originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza.”

Earlier this year the Trump administration withheld $65 million in assistance to UNRWA, the U.N. agency that handles Palestinian refugees.

However, earlier this month, the department had released approximately $61 million of the 2018 money for security projects that encourage cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

The move comes as the Trump administration prepares to roll out a peace proposal for the Israelis and Palestinians.

[Reprinted with permission of JNS.org]

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