Israeli centrist leader finds himself alone in battle against UN agency
In an interview with Al-Monitor, Yesh Atid Leader Yair Lapid expressed surprise that his government is cooperating with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, while the rest of the Israeli political establishment is reluctant to disrupt the aid that keeps Gaza afloat.
Over the past few weeks, reports have reached Israel that the new Canadian government is planning to renew its support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. The UNRWA helps Palestinian refugees throughout the Middle East, with special emphasis on those in the refugee camps of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who was particularly supportive of Israel, the Canadians suspended their support for UNRWA. Jerusalem has now learned that Canada is about to restore its financial aid to the UN agency, if cautiously, by helping to fund special projects rather than providing regular support for the organization at large.
Former Finance Minister Yair Lapid, the chairman of Yesh Atid, was exasperated by the news. The man considered the strongest candidate to one day succeed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been waging an all-out war against UNRWA and various other international aid organizations and institutions. He calls UNRWA anti-Semitic and says that it has been causing profound damage to Israel.
“Its staff,” Lapid told Al-Monitor in an interview, “includes quite a few members of Hamas, and its schools and preschools are being used to hide Qassam rockets and mortars. Worst of all,” he continues, “it manufactures refugees, thereby making a decisive contribution to perpetuating the Palestinian refugee phenomenon.”
Lapid has decided to fight the move, and is now trying to persuade the Canadians not to change their policy. He placed a few calls to prominent Jewish Canadian leaders and asked them to pressure their representatives in the parliament and the government, but when they got back to him a few days later, they had some surprising news. They had started sending out feelers, but were told that the Canadian government had already consulted with the Israeli Embassy and the ambassador himself, speaking for Jerusalem, informed them that the Israeli government does not oppose support for UNRWA. In fact, the opposite may be true.
