04-May-16: Begging for spare Arab change at UNRWA

Everyone and his personal struggle: Addressing transport
issues in the UAE [Image Source: Reuters]

In the Middle East, there are two fundamental, but different, realities that influence strongly the shape of the Arab/Israel conflict. One is the passion with which Arab states, especially the richest among them, pledge undying support for the "resistance" "struggle" of the Palestinian Arabs. The other is the financial resources they put behind that "support".

UN Palestinian agency turns to Gulf countries to avoid funding crisis | Established in 1950, UNRWA helps some five million Palestinians living in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and in the Palestinian territories (File photo: AP) | AFP | United Nations (United States) Tuesday, 3 May 2016 | The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency on Tuesday urged Gulf countries to donate millions to help UNRWA avoid a funding crisis. Last year, the agency was hit by a major funding crisis that threatened to affect the opening of schools. An appeal by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to donors helped resolve the crisis, but the agency still has a funding gap of some $80 million. “We’d be very appreciative to have countries that have come forward last summer to help, and in particular three Gulf states –- Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait -– renew their generosity this year,” said Pierre Krahenbul, UNRWA’s commissioner-general. “If we could have that, we’d be able to avoid another crisis this summer,” he said.

Image Source

To give this a frame of reference, the Gross Domestic Product in 2014 (US dollars), the latest numbers we could find, for the three Arab countries to which UNRWA is turning its beseeching eyes:

• United Arab Emirates $399.5 Billion
• Kuwait $172.6 Billion
• Saudi Arabia $746.3 Billion

To help readers put this pathetic charade into perspective, and understand the decades of deep Arab cynicism about their beloved Palestinian brothers, see "19-Jun-13: We actually do understand why Arab states put almost no money in the Palestinian Arab "refugee" fund pot. We just don't get why the US does."

Based on some numbers we published here four years ago, pretty much the same question should be asked of the European Union, Australia, Sweden, UK, Norway and a list of other Western countries.