Jehad Abusalim (American Friends Service Committee)
In this session we examined the situation in the Gaza Strip, including how the Gaza Strip came to be isolated from the West Bank and besieged by Israel, the role of Hamas and related Palestinian political dynamics, and the humanitarian situation in light of repeated Israeli military campaigns, more than a decade of blockade, and now COVID.
Part 5 – Palestinian Refugees and the Role of UNRWA
Featuring:
Gwyn Lewis (UNRWA),
Diba Abu Nejila (humanitarian professional)
In this session we focused on Palestinian refugees – one of the core issues of the conflict and which under the Olso Accords was to be resolved in the context of permanent status talks between Israelis and Palestinians. We will examine how Palestinians became refugees, the role and development of UNRWA as the organization responsible for Palestinian refugees, and the debate around the continued status of many Palestinians as refugees today.
When the previous US administration pulled its aid, the impact was enormous on the Palestinian people. As a result, funding for hospitals in East Jerusalem dropped, which would then go on to affect Palestinians during the pandemic.
Photo by Ahmed Abu Hameeda on Unsplash
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 9 2021 (IPS) - The Trump administration’s decision to cut off assistance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) caused considerable hardship for Palestinian refugees during the coronavirus pandemic, particularly those in Gaza where a majority of the population are refugees and poverty is rampant due to Israel’s blockade, Khaled Elgindy, a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI), told IPS.
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Marvin G. Weinbaum
Director, Afghanistan and Pakistan Studies
The U.S., until recently a tireless promoter of peace talks in Doha, is now making an end run around the deadlocked inter-Afghan negotiations. With the whole peace process seemingly grinding down to defeat, U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad has presented a new game plan designed to keep reconciliation hopes alive. The eight-page document envisions an interim governing structure that would presumably pave the way to a permanent power-sharing arrangement between an array of Afghan political elites and Taliban senior leadership. To kick off the diplomatic effort, the U.S. has proposed holding a U.N.-sponsored conference in Turkey. Expected to attend along with the U.S. would be representatives from Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, and India, whose deliberations would set the stage for Afghan government-led and Taliban delegations to negotiate their differences.
Analyses: Moscow making efforts to play a new role in Palestinian crisis
Russia has been active in recent years in relation to the Palestinian crisis. Russian Foreign Ministry envoy on the Palestinian cause Vladimir Safronkov in talks with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Palestinian and Israeli Affairs, Hady Amr, announced his readiness to promote peace in West Asia and put an end to the Palestinian crisis..