JERUSALEM _ Palestine News Network
The mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barakat, said he was working on a plan to expel the United Nations Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from the city.
"UNRWA" manages the shu´fat Palestinian refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, the only camp in the city with a population of more than 20,000, including 11,000 registered with the International Agency as refugees.
"UNRWA is a foreign and unnecessary factor that has failed miserably, and I intend to expel it from the city of Jerusalem," The settler Channel 7 reported on its website on Monday.
"I have instructed the municipal Professional staff to prepare a plan of action that I will present to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to evacuate the" UNRWA "from the City of Jerusalem," he said.
"We will close schools to allow students to find hope in schools in the city of Jerusalem," Barakat said.
"It´s time to stop dealing with them as refugees and start dealing with them as citizens," Barakat said, referring to Palestinian refugees.
"The removal of UNRWA from Jerusalem will reduce incitement and terrorism, improve services for the population and strengthen the eastern part of the city," Barakat said.
Israel welcomed Washington´s decision to stop "UNRWA" funding, while the Palestinians condemned the decision as an attempt to remove the refugee dossier from the Palestinian-Israeli negotiating table.
