US Ambassador to UN is “arrogant”: Palestinian envoy

The United States envoy to the United Nations (UN) was labelled as “arrogant” by her Palestinian counterpart after she slammed Arab and Islamic countries for talking up a big game in support of Palestinians without providing financially supporting their humanitarian needs.

Ambassador, Nikki Haley, a strong defender of Israel, was speaking during a Security Council meeting on the Middle East. She angered many countries from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Group by arguing that they are generous in words but not in financial contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency that helps Palestinian refugees.

Haley was not holding back during this monthly session on the Middle East, which tends to be dominated by the Palestinian question. Noting there was no end to speeches from Arab states criticizing Israel’s actions in the region while providing little or no financial aid to the Palestinian cause.

“Talk is cheap. No group of countries is more generous with their words than the Palestinians’ Arab neighbours, and other OIC member states. But all of the words spoken here in New York do not feed, clothe, or educate a single Palestinian child. All they do is get the international community riled up.”

She mentioned countries by name in terms of their contributions or lack thereof to UNRWA, the agency tasked by the UN General Assembly to provide humanitarian relief to Palestinians.

Haley mentioned Iran, Algeria and Tunisia as having made zero contributions last year. She called out Egypt and Pakistan for low contributions while touting the US amount of $ 364 million to the agency last year, despite Washington cutting its aid to $ 60 million so far in 2018 as tensions with the Palestinian Authority continue to rise.

“Judging by the vitriol that is directed toward the United States from the Palestinian representatives, including the one here today, and from some of their allies, one might fairly conclude that our support is unappreciated or unwelcomed. Americans are very generous people. We are humanitarian oriented people. And we continue to seek out ways to help the Palestinian people, whose plight is of genuine concern to us. But we are not fools. If we extend a hand in friendship and generosity, we do not expect our hand to be bitten.”

UN Ambassador to Palestine, Riyad Mansour response by saying, “Of course it was typical of the Trump administration insulting their allies and their friends because she was insulting close allies to the United States such as the Arab countries in the Gulf region, including Saudi Arabia that warranted that very clear response from the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia. You cannot come to the Security Council in an arrogant way to say that you are the only one who is helping and others are not doing anything that is not the case.”

Mansour again reiterated Palestine’s position that an international group of countries, like the Middle East Quartet, replace the US role as sole mediator in the peace process.

“The writing is on the wall, Jerusalem is off the table, refugees are off the table, UNRWA to be destroyed through their actions of denying substantial amount of money, settlements are more or less acceptable and the two state solution is not in the card deck – so if you have that kind of behaviour that is being exhibited by the US administration, so what is left on the table? So that’s why we don’t want to engage in something that is useless because all the things that they have announced unilaterally are things that will not pave the way for peace and progress.”

He also confirmed that The State of Palestine had been elected to Chair the Group of 77 Plus China for the year 2019.