UNRWA Cripples Itself, Israel Starves Gaza
📰 THE STORY: Al Jazeera reports UNRWA is laying off 600 staff and cutting salaries by 20% in Gaza, attributing the cuts to funding shortages and Israeli restrictions on aid access, warning of worsening humanitarian conditions. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: This is not a new tactic. In 2018, the Trump administration cut $300 million in aid to UNRWA, framing it as a 'drain on
resources' and part of efforts to delegitimize Palestinian refugees' right of return, intensifying precarity in Gaza even before the 2023-24 genocide. The current 'defunding' began in January 2024, when the Israeli government, without presenting verifiable evidence, accused 12 UNRWA employees out of 13,000 of involvement in the October 7 attacks. This led to immediate aid freezes from 16
countries, including the US, UK, and Germany, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. Double Standard: Western governments and media were swift to freeze funding to UNRWA based on unsubstantiated allegations against a handful of individuals—less than 0.1% of its staff—yet there's no similar outrage or funding freeze for the Israeli government or military despite overwhelming evidence, including
ICJ rulings and UN reports, pointing to war crimes and genocide, with over 40,000 Palestinians killed since October 7, 2023. This is not about accountability; it's about political leverage. Follow the Money: The countries freezing UNRWA aid are simultaneously increasing military aid to Israel. The US, for example, approved an additional $14.5 billion in military aid to Israel in October 2023, on