Communicated
by the MFA Spokesperson)
Israel
views with great concern the recently published findings of the Office of
Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) investigation into UNRWA and calls for the
full and transparent release of all findings of the investigation. These
findings strengthen Israel's claims that deep and comprehensive change in the
operational model of the agency is required.
Under
the leadership of UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl over the past
several years, the politicization of UNRWA has expanded, the budget deficit has
inflated, and the operational model has become unsustainable. The stepping
aside of Krähenbühl is but the first step in a long process that is needed to
eliminate corruption, increase transparency, and prevent politicization of the
agency.
Israel
calls on the international community and all contributing countries to take
part in an evaluation process to create a new and more effective operational
model.
The
recent developments prove that the automatic renewal of UNRWA's mandate for
three more years is absolutely absurd, immoral, and unreasonable.
Minister
of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz stated: "UNRWA's conduct illustrates that
the agency is part of the problem, and not part of the solution. The agency
perpetuates the refugee issue in a political manner, and in doing so distances
any possibility for a future resolution. The international community needs to
find a new model that will provide humanitarian assistance to those who truly
need it, and must remove from the agenda the futile idea of the return of the
refugees.”
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