An American writer accused United States President Joe Biden that, in his response to the repercussions of the war that has been going on in Gaza for more than 8 months, he often appeared weak, as he continued to express annoyance at the humanitarian losses there, but he did not take firm steps to reduce them.

Nicholas Kristof said, in his weekly column in the New York Times, that Biden seemed mostly weak in his dealings with the Gaza war for more than 8 months, and was disturbed by the human losses, “but he did not act decisively to reduce them.”

But it was decisive - unusually - in one case, when Israel alleged the involvement of some employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in terrorism. It quickly stopped its funding, and then Congress proceeded to freeze it, according to what was stated in the article.

Kristof added that the facts on which the accusations against UNRWA were based proved to be “misleading,” because their aim was to hold the international agency accountable, at the same time accusing the United States of seeming to double the misery and misery of the hungry.

He noted that far-right Israeli politicians are exerting pressure to abolish UNRWA, which he said establishes schools, clinics and other services for Palestinians.

The Israeli Parliament (the Knesset) approved a draft law classifying UNRWA as a terrorist organization in the first reading stage, which sparked international condemnation. Doctors Without Borders considered this step a “heinous attack on humanitarian aid.” The European Union, for its part, issued a statement reminding “The critical and irreplaceable role of UNRWA in the humanitarian response in Gaza.”

The columnist said in his article that he spent a day in the West Bank with a team from UNRWA, mostly in the Jalazoun refugee camp, and it was clear that the agency was providing vital health and education services, despite being under siege.

The writer quoted Philippe Lazzarini, the Swiss-Italian humanitarian affairs official who leads the agency, as saying, “UNRWA is reeling under the weight of the continuing attacks.” He warned that it could "collapse" in a way that could "sow the seeds of future hatred, resentment and conflict."

During his visit to the West Bank, Kristof reported that he saw the area surrounding the UN agency's headquarters in East Jerusalem charred after violent Israeli demonstrators attacked the compound and set it on fire twice, chanting in Hebrew, "Let the United Nations burn."

He pointed out that Israel has always been hostile to UNRWA, but its accusations against it intensified after the attack launched by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on the seventh of last October.

Israeli officials claimed, in January, that 12 of the agency's 30,000 employees participated in that attack, but Kristof confirmed that UNRWA acted "responsibly" regarding this accusation and dismissed 10 of its accused employees from service, while the two died. The other two.

The writer praised what UNRWA provides, and said that he noticed - during his visits to the West Bank and Gaza over the years - that the international agency seemed to him a “force” that limits unrest and does not work to inflame it, and that its schools are credited with the Palestinians’ access to a relatively good education.

He added that the overwhelming majority of UNRWA employees are Palestinians, and it has tried to adhere to the principles of neutrality "in a highly polarized region."

He criticized the occupation state's behavior towards this agency, quoting Lazzarini as saying: "Ultimately, there is a political goal to strip the Palestinians of their refugee status and weaken their future aspirations for self-determination. It is also a means to undermine the two-state political solution."

The American writer asked: “Does it make sense for there to be a separate agency that supports Palestinian refugees while there is also a United Nations agency that supports everyone?”

He continued, "Should an agency that was created on a temporary basis 75 years ago continue indefinitely to serve the descendants of refugees? Is this favoritism for one group of displaced Palestinians, while others from Sudan, South Sudan or Eritrea are sometimes worse off?" ?

He concluded his article by calling on Biden to admit his mistake, stressing the need for the United States to support UNRWA’s efforts to combat famine, not to undermine those efforts.

Source: New York Times