Ali Hweidi, the general director of Association 302 to Defend Refugees Rights in Lebanon, warned against the information in the French newspaper Le Monde about the occupation-Emirati cooperation to eliminate UNRWA.

Hweidi said, in an interview with Shehab news agency, that the UAE had not denied the information provided in the report when the Le Monde newspaper reached out to Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister. Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of International Cooperation in the UAE, announced that her country will not pay UNRWA anything until the agency takes a step to efficiently operate its funds.

Hweidi also said that last year, the UAE paid $1 million to UNRWA through Emirati societies not the government. Earlier however in 2019 and 2018, the UAE paid $53M and $51M respectively. He stressed that these numbers are a practical translation of the volume of cooperation between the centers for ‘Israeli’ and Emirati Studies to end UNRWA's work.  

He warned against the pressure the UAE, USA and occupation exercise on donor countries to prevent the offering of necessary funds.

The Le Monde revealed that the UAE is working on ending UNRWA's work which had depended heavily on its funds, along with funds from Qatar and SA, in 2018 and 2019.