Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, warned that defunding UNRWA would be “disproportionate and dangerous.” In a lengthy entry yesterday in his blog, Borrell gave a detailed defense of UNRWA and its irreplaceability for the welfare of Gazans especially at this moment of deadly conflict.
He wrote that the last meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council “saw a wide recognition that UNRWA is an irreplaceable supplier of lifesaving aid to the Palestinians.” He added that while some EU members have cut their aid, he corrected the “disinformation” being put out that all major donors were cutting aid, making the point that neither the EU itself, nor France and Germany have cut aid. However, he stressed, donors have cut $440 million, almost half UNRWA’s expected income this year, threatening the very existence of the organization.
