The United States on Wednesday called for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to be dismounted weeks before the economic aspect of the US plan for peace in the Middle East was unveiled.
In a speech before the UN Security Council, US adviser Jason Greenblatt said UNRWA was a "bandage" and that it was time for refugee and non-governmental organizations to receive the services provided by the IAEA.
"The model of UNRWA has failed the Palestinian people," Greenblatt told the council.
Last year, the administration of US President Donald Trump cut its funding to UNRWA.
Greenblatt, who is working with Trump Jared Kouchner in drafting a peace plan to be announced after Ramadan, said it was time to "start a discussion about planning the transfer of UNRWA services to host governments or other international or local NGOs."
UNRWA was founded in 1949 to provide education and health services to some 5 million Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Occupied East Jerusalem.
The United States is organizing a conference in Bahrain on June 25-26 to discuss the economic side of its peace plan in the region, which Greenblatt said could bring "a prosperous future for the Palestinians."
"It would be wrong for the Palestinians not to join us, they have nothing to lose but they will gain a lot if they join us, but that´s definitely their choice," Greenblatt said.
