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The suspension of funding by some donor countries for the humanitarian operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), on which the survival of thousands of Palestinians depends, is an obstacle for all concerned, represented by UNRWA. The Palestinian people are the main beneficiaries of this assistance, in addition to the Agency itself and its staff, and the United Nations, because of its obligations to the Palestinian people and their just cause.
The suspension of funding was due to accusations by the Israeli entity that UNRWA staff were involved in an attack on that Israeli entity on 7 October.
Countries that have decided to temporarily stop providing funding to UNRWA include the United States, Canada, Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Japan, etc.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Filippo Lazzarini called the suspension of funding by some countries to the agency “alarming” and called on them to reconsider their decision, saying the agency’s suspension threatened humanitarian work in the region, especially in the Gaza Strip.
Lazzarini added that the agency’s funding cannot be suspended over allegations against a small number of staff, especially given that the measures taken by the UN agency “depend on the survival of more than two million people.”
UNRWA announced an investigation into its staff following the Israeli accusations, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also announced the termination of the services of nine of the agency’s 12 staff members suspected of involvement in the October 7 attack.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on countries that have suspended funding to UNRWA to reconsider and withdraw their decision, in the spirit of human prejudice and in line with their stated position on the need to protect civilians and meet their basic humanitarian needs, considering that this decision is a collective punishment for millions of Palestinians, especially in light of the humanitarian disaster that the Gaza Strip has been suffering since October 7 last year.
She said the decisions were politicized and disproportionate, especially in light of the UN Secretary-General’s announcement to investigate Israel’s allegations and take the necessary measures in accordance with the law.
Hussein Sheikh, Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, believed that the decision to stop funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees “involves huge political and relief risks” and called on the United Nations to announce the suspension of support for UNRWA and immediately reverse its decision.
The decision by some countries that donated to UNRWA to stop aid has drawn many positions from international and regional organizations, with the World Health Organization calling on donors not to suspend financial support (to UNRWA). The organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a post on the social media platform /X/, “We call on donors not to suspend funding to the agency at this critical time.”
Ghebreyesus stressed that “cutting funding will only hurt the people of the Gaza Strip, who are suffering greatly and are in urgent need of support.”
In turn, the Arab League warned that incitement against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA) would have dangerous consequences.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abu Gheit said that the systematic incitement led by the Israeli occupation is aimed at completely eliminating the role of this international body, as its headquarters became part of the ongoing aggression against the Arab countries in the Gaza Strip and its staff were targeted for murder.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressed regret over the decision of some countries to temporarily stop providing new funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, believing that this was collective punishment that would exacerbate the Palestinian humanitarian crisis. The OIC warned that the cessation of donations to UNRWA and the interruption of its services have affected the lives of millions of Palestinian refugees as well as the security and stability of the organization.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said the suspension of funding for humanitarian operations was a new blow to the UN agency, which has been suffering from a lack of funds for years. It is experiencing its worst financial crisis in recent years… when it warned… 2023 will be a difficult year given the growing number of refugees and their need for vital life-saving services. The suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has been exacerbated since October 2023 due to the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.
In August 2018, US sources announced that the administration of then-President Donald Trump had decided to cancel all financial support to the United Nations Relief and Support Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration’s decision to end U.S. funding for the agency that handles Palestinian refugee support suggests that the White House is interested in reducing or lowering the total number of Palestinian refugees recognized by the U.S. government, which is not comparable to the number of refugees officially announced by UNRWA.
The US newspaper added that Washington would not recognize the official estimate of the total number of Palestinian refugees at 5 million, but would only recognize 500,000 refugees, as Nikki Haley, then US ambassador to the United Nations, had previously stated.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949 to provide direct relief and employment programmes for Palestinian refugees. The agency began operations on 1 May 1950, providing education, health and assistance services to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
Israeli entities have been seeking to end the work of UNRWA because its existence causes moral harm to it and to the future of the conflict with the Palestinians.
The relationship between the Israeli entity and the agency is tense and involves a lot of push and pull. The Israelis believe that the agency’s existence perpetuates the conflict and they clearly want to get rid of the agency and its role. In 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for placing Palestinian refugees under the leadership of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and ending the existence of UNRWA, as he believes that UNRWA works for the benefit of the Palestinians and perpetuates the refugee problem.
The agency angered the Israeli entity during its aggression in Gaza, which soured relations between the two sides, as it stated more than once that the Israeli entity was bombing civilian targets, including schools and rescue centers.
The UNRWA headquarters has been a target of occupation forces, and in November last year, the occupying forces bombed the United Nations building where UNRWA staff are located in the southern Gaza Strip.
Dozens of Palestinians were killed in a deadly attack on a displaced persons camp in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on January 24, in what the United Nations condemned as a “flagrant violation” of the laws of war.
Thomas White, director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza, announced that “two tank shells hit the building housing 800 people,” noting that nine people were killed and 75 injured. Although Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA, believed that the shelter was known and “its coordinates had been shared with the Israeli authorities,” Lazzarini said on the /X/ platform that “this is once again a blatant violation of the basic rules of war.”
UNRWA helps about two-thirds of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million people and plays a key role in providing aid during the current war.
Data shows that approximately 5.9 million Palestinians are registered with UNRWA and can benefit from its services, including education, health care, social services, camp infrastructure, small and limited financing and emergency assistance, including during armed conflict.
In addition, the UN agency recognizes 58 refugee camps, including 19 in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since the Nakba in 1948. It is estimated that more than 540,000 children study in UNRWA schools.
It is worth noting that before the outbreak of this war, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip was very serious. According to data released by the United Nations in August last year, 63% of the population in the Gaza Strip faced food insecurity and relied on international aid, while more people relied on international aid. More than 80% of the population lived below the poverty line.
The Gaza Strip includes eight refugee camps and about 1.7 million displaced persons, the vast majority of the population, which according to the United Nations has a total population of about 2.4 million.
Of the agency’s 30,000 employees, 13,000 work in the Gaza Strip, in more than 300 facilities covering 365 square kilometers, according to the agency’s website.
The question remains: whether the Israeli entity will be able to put an end to the work of the agency, especially after the American newspaper The New York Times, citing senior UN officials, reported that the loss of funds for UNRWA could have a rapid impact on the organization’s operations, since, unlike other agencies, it does not have strategic financial reserves, noting that the lack of funds will inevitably lead to a reduction in basic services provided to Palestinians, such as health care, education, food supply, etc. The resulting shortage of aid and the increase in poverty among Palestinians increase economic and social pressures, so solutions must be found immediately to maintain the provision of basic services and meet the growing needs in the current complex situation in the Gaza Strip.
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