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Describing it as ¡°irredeemably flawed¡±, the United States announced on 31 August it would end all funding for Unrwa, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ agency for Palestine refugees. During the plenary debate, European Commissioner Johannes Hahn said: ¡°Without Unrwa and the prospect of a two-state solution, there would just be chaos and violence for both the Israeli and Palestinian people.”

Established in 1949 to take care of Palestinians displaced by the Arab-Israeli war, Unrwa provides essential services for some five million Palestine refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

The US decision was widely denounced by MEPs. GUE/NGL member and chair of Parliament¡¯s Palestine delegation??said: ¡°There are five million refugees who are now suffering because of the US cuts. Eighty per cent of the people of Gaza depend entirely on Unrwa support.¡±

EPP member??said: ¡°This is affecting more than 5.5 million men, women and children whom we can’t simply ignore.¡±

“Strong, reliable and predictable”

During the plenary debate, Commissioner Hahn said the EU would continue to be ¡°strong, reliable and predictable supporters of the agency¡±. He referred to the?announced at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ general assembly on 27 September. The EU and its member states already provide almost half of the agency¡¯s budget and the overall EU contribution amounts to some €1.2 billion over the past three years.

“The one who buried the two-state solution”

ALDE MEP??asked whether Donald Trump would ¡°go down in history as the one who buried the two-state solution¡± and said that “it is central for the future of the Palestinian state that we continue to support Unrwa¡±.

S&D member??said that the US decision would end up creating more hatred and more disaffection: “It’s trying to make a two-state solution impossible and ensure that young Palestinians feel more and more abandoned.¡±

Rosa D’Amato?(EFDD) said: ¡°There has been European support to four generations of Palestinian refugees. In Unrwa¡¯s governance there surely is room for improvement, but I think the US cuts are anything but productive in terms of peace in the Middle East.¡±

On behalf of the Greens/EFA,??spoke of Unrwa¡¯s ¡°fantastic work¡±. Referring to ¡°Israel¡¯s systematic challenging of international law¡±, the vice-chair of Parliament¡¯s Palestine delegation asked: ¡°What is the EU¡¯s response? Some worried mumblings and a few extra euro.¡±

“A major opportunity”

ECR member?, vice-chair of Parliament¡¯s Israel delegation, was of the view, however, that the US decision gives ¡°the international community a major opportunity to change and introduce new rational criteria for Palestinian refugees¡±. He spoke of Unrwa¡¯s ¡°major deficits¡± and urged the EU to ¡°support Washington in its wake-up call to the Palestinian leadership¡±.

German ENF MEP??said: ¡°It’s an absolute scandal that the German government has offered to replace a large part of the US funding to Unrwa. We should be closing this institution and cancelling all of its resources.¡±

In a?, Parliament applauded Unrwa for its ¡°extraordinary efforts¡± and expressed concern that any reduction or delays in funding could result in ¡°damaging impacts on access to emergency food assistance for 1.7 million Palestine refugees and primary healthcare for three million, and on access to education for more than 500,000 Palestinian children¡±.