UNRWA, where is the money going?

#UNRWA, #Gaza, #humanitarian aid, #Hamas, #Palestinian refugee camps, #billions dollars


By • Anav Silverman
Sderot Media Center
Thu Mar 25 2009 05:48:29
http://www.sderotmedia.com/



In the past three years, billions of dollars have poured into the PA and UNRWA.

In recent years, billions of dollars have poured into Gaza from hundreds of countries and international organizations. How much of that money has actually reached Palestinian civilians, effectively improving their quality of life and economy, has yet to be completely determined thanks to vague audits and on-line information.


Only recently, with a relatively silent international press, have there been questions from top political leaders, primarily from US, about the way in which the donor money will be transferred into Gaza.

At an Egyptian donor’s conference organized by Norway and Egypt in early March, more than 75 international donors and organizations met to announce their financial support of the reconstruction in Gaza. Over $5.2 billion were pledged at the conference, surprising the Palestinian Authority who originally called for $2.8 billion needed to build-up Gaza.
In light of the US pledge of $900 million, the second largest following Saudi Arabia‘s $1 billion at the conference, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton stated that no US funds earmarked for Gaza would end up in the “wrong hands.”

By wrong hands, Clinton meant Hamas, the militant Islamist Palestinian party in complete control of the Gaza Strip. Over $300 million dollars of the US pledge money will be going to Gaza reconstruction, while the rest of the $600 million has been earmarked to Palestinian Authority‘s Mahmoud Abbas.

However, there is another set of “wrong hands” in this scenario through which the transfer of funds may very well pass through, hands that are not considered a neutral player in the Arab-Israeli conflict. US State department spokesman, Gordon Duguid stated that Gaza support would be provided through USAID, in coordination with UN agencies that will most likely include UNRWA.
UNRWA, the United Nations Relief Works Agency, established in 1949 to aid Palestinian refugees, has shown dangerous partiality to Hamas terrorists.

In 2004, former UNRWA commissioner-General Peter Hansen revealed to the Canadian Broadcasting Company that UNRWA may very well employ Hamas members. “I am sure that there are Hamas members on the UNRWA payroll and I don’t see that as crime,” Hansen infamously stated. He further added, that “We do not do political vetting and exclude people from one persuasion as against another.”
UNRWA has employed several high profile terrorists which include top Islamic Jihad rocket maker, Awad Al-Qiq who was killed in an Israeli air strike last May 2008. Al-Qiq was the headmaster and science instructor at an UNRWA school in Rafah, Gaza. Another terrorist, Hamas’s interior minister and head of the Executive Force, Said Siyam, was a teacher for over two decades in UNRWA schools.


Mortar Bombs Shot from UN School in Gaza 29 Oct. 2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmXXUOs27lI


Fox News recently reported that UNRWA does not ask its employees whether they are members of, or affiliated with, a terrorist organization such as Hamas or Islamic Jihad. UNRWA also offers no formal screening to ensure that its employees are not affiliated with terrorist organizations.
During Operation Cast Lead, UNRWA officials accused Israel of firing into an UNRWA school, killing dozens of Palestinian civilians seeking refuge. Israel maintained that Palestinian rocket launchers locate next to the school had fired mortars on IDF soldiers, which prompted the army's response. Later, UN official Maxwell Gaylord, reversed the UN’s stance stating that the shelling and fatalities had actually taken place outside of the school. But the media damage to Israel had already been done.

Jonathan Halevi, a former IDF intelligence officer who specializes in Palestinian terrorist organizations, recently told Fox News that he estimates that 60 percent of homicide bombers are educated in UNRWA schools. Past UNRWA textbooks blatantly deny the Jewish connection to Israel and are filled with anti-Semitic remarks.

In any case, the United States remains UNRWA’s largest sponsor, providing the organization with over 75% of its initial budget according to UNRWA‘s former senior legal advisor, James Lindsay. Lindsay, who served as an attorney for the US Justice Department for two decades asserts in his publication for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy which came out on January 29 that UNRWA is providing services to those who are actually not in need of them.
Almost the 2 million Palestinian refugees in Jordan have Jordanian citizenship and are fully eligible for government services, but are continuing to receive UNRWA assistance as the agency regards them as refugees, according to Lindsay‘s report.

Michael Danby, a longstanding legislator in the Australian Parliament has also accused UNRWA of being “notoriously corrupt. “ Since 2007, Australia has provided $30 million in funding for the Palestinians through the UNRWA agency, which Danby accused of diverting funds to “arms purchase, terrorist operations, and anti-Israel incitement as well as into the pockets of the PA leadership.“
“It is a betrayal of that generosity [by Australians] for this money to be wasted, stolen, or misspent on rockets, guns, and terrorism,” Danby said one month ago to the Australian Federal Parliament on February 26.
Other countries actively fundraising for Gaza include France, who hosted a Paris donors conference for Palestinian Authority‘s President Mahmoud Abbas in December 2007. The conference raised over 7.4 billion dollars in Palestinian aid (for a three year period: 2008-2010) from over 90 countries and international organizations that attended. During 2008, over 3 billion dollars pledged at the conference were distributed through the PA.



But that’s not all. By mid-January 2009, TV stations across the Arab world collected over half a billion dollars in a telethon for Gaza, according to Johan Eriksson, a spokesperson for the U.N.
As the Gaza Strip soon teems with money, world donors and leaders must ask the following question: Who will monitor the transfer of these funds and account that they are indeed effectively used for Gaza reconstruction and not for restoring the Hamas terrorist infrastructure?

Has Life in Sderot Changed?

#Sderot Media Center, #Gaza, #Hamas, #qassam, #Israel, #rockets

A Personal Reflection on Current Life in Sderot

Sderot Media Center

www.SderotMedia.com

By: Anav Silverman

"All the world's a stage," says a famous Shakespeare phrase. I recall this expression from Shakespeare's As You Like It as I travel down to Sderot, to begin another week working at our Sderot Media Center office. Sderot, a small Israeli city located less than a mile away from Gaza, is in its own right--a stage--for weekly rocket attacks, post trauma victims and visiting politicians. And the recent ceasefire, which began on January 18, 2009 has not changed anything. Sderot residents are still entering bomb shelters weekly, with the siren alert known as Tzeva Adom or Color Red going off, and rockets exploding across the western Negev. The unilateral ceasefire with Hamas has brought thus far, over 120 rockets raining against Israel-- and not a peep of condemnation from any international actor or the UN. As I sit on the bus, thinking of everything that has come to pass in the recent months, I overhear a Sderot mother speaking to her babysitter back home. It's 10:30 at night and a rocket has apparently been fired at Sderot. "There was a siren??" the mom anxiously exclaims. "Are the kids ok? Are they in bed?" She speaks nervously. "I'm so afraid to leave the house with the kids home, and finally when I do, this has to happen," says the mom despondently almost to herself. It's a Tuesday night in March and the rockets are continuing to strike the hearts of Sderot parents and children. The possibility of a Qassam rocket landing anywhere, destroying any home or building, is just as probable now as it was during the war two months ago. WHEN I first began working in Sderot almost two years ago, I was innocent to the meaning of terror. I had never personally experienced a suicide attack or a bus bombing in Jerusalem. When the media center director interviewed me for the job, he asked me how I deal with terrorist attacks. I told him I had no idea. I can write that I now have unfortunately a very firm idea of what terror is and what it can do to you both physically and psychologically. In the past few months, I have witnessed rocket terror attacks that remain imprinted in my mind. Back in December 2008, the Color Red alarm had gone off one day during work, part of the routine day warning of an impending rocket. Our center had no available bomb shelter at that time, so the staff and I would simply leave the computer stations and crowd in the center of the office, away from the windows. This time around, I didn't feel like getting up, for whatever reason, but Eliran, our technician forced me to and I joined everyone else. And then we all heard it together--the shriek of the rocket as it sailed over our center and slammed with a tremendous explosion about 50 meters away. I felt the air stir as the rocket landed, and heard people crying out. We were all in shock. I remember just standing there, my mind blank. Inside I was shaking, but then I began working in media mode. The only thing that we can do when this happens is snap photos, film and document the attack. Miraculously, the rocket did not slam into a building or physically injure anyone. It had found itself an isolated corner, and was buried deep in the ground. However, the impact of the explosion had caused all the office windows in the area to completely shatter. I entered a barbershop, a travel agency, a computer repair shop--crude pieces of broken glass and debris littered the desks and floors. The barber stood in shock. A woman outside was convulsing--trembling to the point that she had no control of her body. Ambulances arrived. Everyone had made it in time to the shelter within the 15 seconds of the siren sounding and the rocket exploding. Had anyone remained standing near a window, the exploding glass would have caused some very serious injuries. I lost my appetite that day. After that attack, it was very difficult for me to return to work. Each time I entered Sderot, I did so, only by pushing my rational thoughts aside. I began to think that rockets would fall anywhere and that I could very well be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I remember waking up one morning to the sound of the siren and then realizing that I was sleeping in Jerusalem. There was no alarm-- it was just in my head. I call this abnormal. It is abnormal that I have to be afraid. It is abnormal that I find myself racing to a bomb shelter several times a week when I'm in Sderot. It is abnormal that today close to 1 million Israelis in the southern area of the country are now threatened by Hamas rockets. TWO weeks ago, two US congressmen came to visit Sderot for an hour, after spending an entire day in Gaza. Representatives Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) and Brian Baird (D-Washington) toured the city, visiting area bomb shelters, protected schools and the Amar family, whom President Obama also visited during his campaign last year after their home was destroyed by a direct rocket hit. At the police station, against the backdrop of Qassam rockets stored away, the Congressmen asked many questions. As I was the translator, I had the opportunity to get a first hand impression of the visitors. At one point, Congressman Ellison, picked up a Qassam rocket and pointed out how heavy it was. "I could work out with this," he joked. On the surface, I wondered if the Congressmen truly understood the kind of impact that eight years of Gaza rocket fire has on a civilian population. After all, it took me two years to completely understand the meaning behind rocket terror. In any case, in their press release on their visit to the Middle East, Rep. Baird and Ellison spoke primarily on Gaza, barely mentioning Sderot or southern Israel. I only hope that the world does not ignore the major role that Hamas continues to play on this stage of Middle East Conflict. As rocket fire continues, and Hamas once again rebuilds its military infrastructure and rocket supply, Sderot and Palestinian civilians can only wonder if peace will ever make a permanent appearance in this region.

--
Anav Silverman
Sderot Media Center
International Correspondent
Cell: 0528607696
e-mail: anav.sderot@gmail.com
http://www.sderotmedia.com/

Gilad Shalit Supporters Wait for Hillary Clinton's Reply

#Gilad Shalit, #Hillary Clinton, #900 million, #Hamas, #Gaza, #Sderot Media Center, #Capitol Hill

Published By: Sderot Media Center March 16, 2009

www.SderotMedia.com

Photo: Anav Silverman

By ANAV SILVERMAN

Sderot Media Center

In their final effort to pressure the Olmert government to secure the release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, the Shalit family has stationed itself in a protest tent across the Prime Minister's Residence for more than a week now. Rain or shine, the family gathers together each day as reporters, cameramen and thousands of supporters mill around, amid the sad faces of Gilad's parents, Noam and Aviva, and older brother, Yoel.

"We are cautiously waiting to see what will happen," said Noam Shalit on a rainy Sunday standing outside the tent and speaking with Sderot Media Center and press. The family believes that these last few days are critical during the final attempts to negotiate a release deal with Hamas but continue to remain wary. "I am not at all optimistic. If I were optimistic, I wouldn't be here. I would be at home," Noam Shalit said.

A sign at the protest tent lists the number of days that Gilad has been held captive by Hamas–this Saturday it will be 1,000 days. Palestinian terrorists captured Gilad at the Erez border crossing almost three years ago, when Hamas won control of the Gaza Strip. He has since been denied Red Cross visitations or communication with his family and the outside world.

In a country where the military plays a pivotal role and everyone knows someone in service, the Gilad Shalit capture has touched the hearts of Israelis across the nation, making him a national symbol. Posters, photos and flags of Gilad, a typical looking nineteen year-old in glasses, can be found plastered on cars, malls, and homes throughout the country.

Recently, however, the continuing storm in Israel surrounding Gilad's capture made some small waves in the U.S. Congress.

Following a briefing by Sderot Media Center director, Noam Bedein to U.S. congressmen and staffers on Capitol Hill, in an EMET sponsored Policy Forum at Capitol Hill, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev) drafted a letter to Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. In the letter, Congresswoman Berkley, who is a member of the Middle East Subcommittee of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, asked that conditions be placed on the $900 million that the U.S. recently pledged to Gaza.

Berkley stated that she is concerned that the $900 million recently pledged by the United States to the Palestinian people in Gaza will end up in the hands of Hamas, and asked that the money be withheld until the following conditions are met: 1) Hamas recognizes Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, 2) the launching of Qassam rocket missiles on Israel stops, 3) captured soldier Galid Shalit is returned (http://www.emetonline.org ).

On Sunday, March 15, Noam Bedein visited the Shalit family at the Jerusalem protest tent to personally hand a copy of the Berkley letter to Noam Shalit and explain the significance of the petition. Family spokesperson, Shimshon Libman told Sderot Media Center, that every effort including U.S. pressure, would contribute to the family's efforts to bring Gilad home.

The Organization for the Release of Gilad Shalit, released an official statement warmly welcoming the initiative. "For many days, we have demanded that elements that can be used to influence some kind of deal–from transfer of money and goods to prisoners, will make Hamas understand that this is a mutual affair. Our true friends in the U.S. again reveal their understanding of the game rules played in this region. This is the language of action needed. We hope that representatives of other contributing nations (to Gaza) will act in a similar fashion."

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley is still awaiting a response from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to her letter.

Noam Bedein and Noam Shalit, Photo: Anav Silverman

The Shalit family will unfortunately also continue to wait for Gilad's release–indirect talks between Israel and Hamas in Cairo failed to advance Gilad's release in exchange for hundreds of freed Palestinian prisoners. Knesset Minister, Eli Yishai stated on Tuesday that Gilad's release will be up to the next government. During the negotiations, Hamas demanded the release of up to 1,400 prisoners. Of that number, 450 were Palestinian terrorists known to have been involved in terror attacks that killed Israelis.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Ayman Taha, a Hamas spokesman stated that the two sides had yet to resolve a number of differences regarding the proposed deal.

"It will take a few days before we know if there is an agreement," Taha stated. "Hamas has presented its demands to the Egyptian mediators, who relayed them to the Israelis. We hope that the Zionist enemy will accept our demands in the coming days."

At any rate, rocket fire continued against Israel again this week, as a Palestinian rocket fired at the western Negev on Monday struck an open area across a kibbutz in the Eshkol Regional Council. Over 160 Palestinian rockets and mortars have slammed into Israel since the unilateral ceasefire began on January 18.

Anav Silverman is a journalist at Sderot Media Center, www.sderotmedia.com, which is on the front lines Palestinian rocket fire.

Link to the video - http://www.sderotmedia.com/bin/videos.cgi?q=watch&id=2389

--
Anav Silverman
Sderot Media Center
International Correspondent
Cell: 0528607696
e-mail: anav.sderot@gmail.com
www.SderotMedia.com

Letter sent by U.S. Congresswoman Shelley Berkley to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

#U.S. Congresswoman Shelley Berkley,#US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, #Gaza, #900 million dollars, #Hamas, #Noam Bedein , #Gilad Shalit, #Rockets, #terrorism



http://www.sderotmedia.com/


March 11,2009 U.S. congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-Nev), a member of the Middle East Subcommittee of the US House Foreign Affairs Commttee, has sent a letter to US Secretary of State Clinton in which she demands that the American government condition $900 million in Gaza aid for Palestinians on ending Gazan rocket fire on Israel and release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.


U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged that $900 million during a conference in Egypt last week, which sought to raise money for rebuilding Gaza after Israel's three-week incursion into Gaza, which was aimed at halting Gaza rocket fire on southern communities.
Shalit has been held as a hostage by the Gaza regime Gaza since a cross-border raid in June 2006.

Rep. Berkley's letter to Clinton followed a meeting on Capitol Hill last Tuesday with the Sderot Media Center, (www.SderotMedia.com ) who briefed Congress about what life is like in rocket-battered Sderot in a meeting intiated by EMET 's President, Sarah Stern. Sderot Media Center brought Congress a series of first hand audiovisual reports of the 120 rocket attacks that have been launched from Gaza since Israel ceased its military incursion into Gaza on Jan. 18, two days before President Obama was inaugurated.

After the briefing with the Sderot Media Center, Rep. Shelley Berkley dispatched a strong letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which demanded that the aid be delayed as long as the Gaza rocket fire continues and so long as Shalit remains captive.
EMET (Endownment for Middle East Truth) was established two years ago with the purpose of battling Islamic extremism and terrorism through information dessimination, policy forums, congressional luncheons, seminars and many other venues. Video of Sderot Media Center presentation on Cap. Hill: (takes a few minutes to download)

http://conjostudios.com/clients/EMET
=======================Here is the text of the letter.


March 5, 2009 Photo: Carrie Devorah/WENN

The Honorable Hillary Clinton Secretary of State2201 C Street NWWashington, DC 20520

"Dear Madam Secretary:
I write to you today regarding the situation in the Middle East. In the wake of Hamas’ attacks on Israel, and Israel’s defensive operations, I understand the U.S. government has pledged to grant $900 million for the rebuilding of Gaza and for assisting the Palestinian Authority. I am concerned that this money will end up helping Hamas and hurting the very Palestinian people we intend to help.

For years, the U.S. has infused money into the Palestinian Authority (PA), with very little to show for it. Their leaders are no more ready to govern today than they were before we began our funding. After years of mismanagement, their basic institutions are in shambles and they have shown very little ability to govern in the West Bank without the presence of the Israeli Defense Forces.
Instead of helping average Palestinians, our money has lined the pockets of the Arafats and other corrupt Palestinian leaders.

I also understand our funding will not be conditioned on any reciprocal actions by Hamas or the PA. Despite Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, Hamas still refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, has not stopped raining rockets on Israeli territory and still holds captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. It is essential that we condition our funding on Hamas’ reciprocating with these basic demands. Without such links, Palestinians will see the U.S. as providing aid while Hamas continues to terrorize the Israeli people, with no consequences from the U.S. government.

I am also concerned that much of the funding will be directed through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Unfortunately, UNRWA has proven itself to be a biased agency, with very little oversight. During the most recent violence in Gaza, UNRWA issued numerous statements attacking Israel for their self-defense actions, while failing to criticize Hamas for launching missiles at innocent Israeli citizens.
Much of UNWRA’s money and services end up in the hands of people who are wealthy enough not to need the assistance, or worse, with members of terrorist organizations. UNRWA officials have even admitted that they cannot guarantee their money does not go to Hamas. I believe helping UNRWA does not further the cause of peace."

Noam Bedein on Cap Hill: New Cong. initiative: Stop funds to Gaza unless Shalit

#900 million dollars, #captiol hill, #noam bedein, #Gaza, #Shelley Berkley, #Hamas, #gilad Shalit, # petition, #US congress

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1069109.html
www.SderotMedia.com

* Results of Noam Bedein's March 3 appearance on Capitol Hill:New Congressional initiative: Stop funds to Gaza unless Shalit handed over & unless Gaza shelling of Israel stops:



WASHINGTON - U.S. congressmen are seeking to condition $900 million in aid for the Palestinians on ending Gazan rocket fire on Israel and the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged the $900 million during a conference in Egypt this week, which sought to raise money for rebuilding Gaza after Israel's three-week Operation Cast Lead.The offensive was aimed at halting rocket fire on southern communities. Shalit has been held captive in Gaza since a cross-border raid in June 2006.










The proposal followed a meeting on Capitol Hill between Noam Bedein, the director of the media center in Qassam-battered Sderot and several congressmen and their advisors. After the meeting, Rep. Shelley Berkley of Nevada drafted a petition to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which demanded that the aid be delayed as long as the rocket fire continues and Shalit remains captive. Berkley, a Jewish politician well-known for her support of Israel, backed the Israeli operation in Gaza during December and January, and even told Haaretz that Israel may have been too tolerant.