Israel's ban on Unrwa a catastrophe, UN Palestinian agency warns

Israel plans to formally outlaw the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) this Thursday, a move that has sparked concerns about the delivery of vital aid and long-term peace prospects. Israeli officials have not yet clarified how they will implement the law passed by parliament last year. The law accuses UNRWA of colluding with Hamas, which the agency denies.

Juliet Touma, the communications director for UNRWA, stated, "If this ban goes into effect, it would be a disaster. It will exacerbate the suffering of the Palestinian people who depend on the agency for survival, education, and healthcare." Even before the brutal 15-month war displaced the vast majority of Gaza's 2 million people, leaving them homeless, most of them were already registered as refugees.

UNRWA initially established refugee camps in Gaza to accommodate Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes around the time of Israel's creation in 1948. For seven decades, these original refugees and their descendants, as well as a new wave of refugees from the 1967 Middle East war, have been cared for by UNRWA. There are approximately 6 million Palestinian refugees in the Middle East, including Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Nasser family is one such example, currently crammed into a tent in the courtyard of a converted UNRWA school in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. They are from Beit Hanoun in the north, but have decided to postpone their return to the ruins of their homes even though a fragile ceasefire is in effect. Ahmed Nasser, the father of nine children, says he is struggling to get food aid. “Now, we get two hot meals a week from UNRWA, and people are still starving. What will it be like if that stops completely?”

Ahmed says his children—who used to be UNRWA students—have forgotten basic knowledge like their multiplication tables because their schools have been closed for so long. Now, they fear their lessons may never resume. “We just want to go back to school and make up for the days we lost,” said 16-year-old Malaka. “Every child in Gaza has a dream of what they want to be when they grow up—a doctor or an engineer. If education stops, we will have no future.”

The full impact of the law passed by the Israeli parliament is not yet clear. Last October, parliament voted overwhelmingly to ban UNRWA's activities on Israeli territory and to prohibit contact between Israeli officials and UNRWA employees. These laws are due to take effect on January 30. However, the wording of the law does not directly address the agency’s operations in Gaza or the occupied West Bank. UN staff say that without coordination with Israeli military authorities, it will ultimately be impossible to operate in either place.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharon Haskin told the BBC that only Palestinian officials should deal with UNRWA in the West Bank. She accused the agency of being infiltrated by Hamas in Gaza and becoming a security threat. “Israel actually gave the international community over a year to clean up this organization, and they didn't. They tried to cover it up and turn a blind eye to breaches of neutrality,” said Haskin. “This is the only logical step.”

Israel has long accused UNRWA of perpetuating the conflict by maintaining the hope of Palestinians returning to their historic homes. However, tensions have escalated dramatically since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the war that followed. A year ago, Israel accused 18 UNRWA employees of involvement in the deadly attacks. A UN investigation later found that nine employees may have been involved, and the agency dismissed them. UN officials have dismissed most of Israel's accusations against the agency and insist that UNRWA is impartial.

Many international donors, including the UK and the EU, have since restored their contributions to the agency. In occupied East Jerusalem, tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees are uneasy, and this week UNRWA staff can be seen stacking boxes outside some offices. The Israeli government has ordered UNRWA to evacuate its compound in this part of the city, which Israel has annexed in a move not recognized internationally.

“You can see in front of us the UNRWA Shuafat health center, where I was the director, and on the other side, the girls' school and the separate boys' school,” said Salim Anati, a retired family doctor, as he walked me along the busy main road of the Shuafat refugee camp where he grew up. He told me that his parents—who were expelled from their home in Lod, now in Israel—never believed that the refugee camps or UNRWA would become permanent fixtures.

The fate of the refugees—a core issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—was supposed to be resolved in peace negotiations. However, negotiations stalled a decade ago. Now, Palestinians believe that Israel is using this opportunity to push through its own political solution. Dr. Anati said that Palestinians refuse to accept the abolition of UNRWA and its services. “Everyone is shocked, because this is fundamental to us refugees, UNRWA represents international agreements and our dream to return to our villages and cities.”

The UN has repeatedly stated that there is no substitute for UNRWA. At a heated meeting in New York on Tuesday, senior UN officials and all members of the Security Council except the US (Israel’s closest ally) described Israel’s actions as a breach of international law and its obligations under the UN Charter. The US Deputy Representative to the UN, Dorothy Shea, accused UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini of being “irresponsible and dangerous” in outlining the projected “catastrophic” impact, particularly on aid to Gaza. But Lazzarini said the legislation would impose “huge restrictions,” particularly on aid operations in Gaza, and called for international powers to push back against the legislation “in support of peace and stability.”