"President Trump's decision to defund the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is, of course, the right move from a legal perspective, but lest there be any confusion, it also is the just and empathetic response towards an organization that long has done a disservice to the very population it was meant to be helping...
In 1965, UNRWA changed the eligibility requirements to be a Palestinian refugee to include third generation descendants, and in 1982 changed it again, to include all descendants of Palestine refugee males, including legally adopted children regardless of whether or not they have been granted citizenship elsewhere. This classification process is inconsistent with how all other refugees in the world are classified, including the definition used by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) and the laws concerning refugees in the United States...
Under Article I(c)(3) of the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a person no longer is a refugee if, for example, he or she has 'acquired a new nationality, and enjoys the protection of the country of his new nationality.' UNRWA's definition of a Palestinian refugee, which is not anchored in treaty, includes no such provision...
Putting aside well-established facts about how UNRWA actually operates, including the fact that it overlooks reported terrorist group activity in some of its camps; allowed members of Hamas and other terrorist groups to hold UNRWA staff positions; teaches children to demonize and delegitimize Israel using violent propaganda; and uses false images to stir up hatred against Israel, UNRWA is the only refugee agency in the world whose purpose is not to resettle refugees and help them go on with their lives..."