Posted on 04/23/2004 4:39:12 AM PDT by me_newswire
WASHINGTON - The U.N. agency that helps Palestinian refugees said Friday it is nothing more than a humanitarian organization, with no responsibility for camps security in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Some members of Congress and the World Jewish Congress allege that the camps have become launching pads for terrorist activity against Israeli civilians. President Bush has hinted that the United States, the major donor to the U.N. Relief Works Agency, might cut the agency off.
Peter Hansen, UNRWA´S commissioner general, said that under the Oslo peace accords Israel and the Palestinian Authority have clearly defined security responsibilities in the Palestinian areas, including the refugee camps.
"UNRWA does operate the camps. We do not exercise one iota of civil authority," Hansen said. "Civil authority belongs to the Palestinians in Gaza and is shared with the Israelis in the West Bank depending on the area."
Hansen met Friday with a dozen or so staff members of House and Senate committees that deal with international affairs to explain how UNRWA operates. The agency has a staff of 12,000, mostly Palestinians, but as employees of the United Nations they are obliged to avoid political activity.
The United States is UNRWA´ s largest donor. It has promised $80 million for the agency´s annual budget of $301 million and an extra $30 million in response to an appeal for emergency help to deal with humanitarian problems created by recent Israeli incursions into the West Bank after Palestinian suicide bombers killed dozens of Israelis.
The World Jewish Congress has urged Congress to investigate UNRWA, alleging it "permits terrorist activities to thrive under the U.N. flag." Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., chairman of a congressional task force on terrorism, complained this month: "Buildings and warehouses under UNRWA supervision are allegedly being used as storage areas for Palestinian ammunition."
Hansen said the Israelis have not complained about the activities of any of UNRWA´s staff. One member who sat on a stage during a political rally was disciplined, he said.
In Washington, Hansen also held talks at the State Department and the National Security Council.
A Dane who has headed UNRWA for six years, Hansen said he came away from his meetings on Capitol Hill convinced he had provided enough information on UNRWA operations to forestall the need for hearings on the agency soon.
Asked by reporters about Bush´s hint that the United States might end financing the Palestinian relief effort, Hansen said he was not particularly worried.
The United States "recognizes the contribution UNRWA makes to stability" in the West Bank and Gaza, he said. "We are the only institution with a network that can provide help, transport food and medical supplies and be held accountable."
UNRWA was founded in 1949, after the foundation of Israel and its first war with the Arabs. It provides health care, education and other relief for 3.7 million refugees displaced by the 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli wars and their descendants.
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