UN agency helping Palestinians in Gaza seeks support against Israel’s demands for its dissolution
UNITED NATIONS — The head of the UN agency that has been helping millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank for decades urged the Security Council on Wednesday to ensure its survival, while Israel again demanded its dissolution, calling the agency accused of becoming part of Hamas’ “terror war machine.” .”
Philippe Lazzarini told the council that dismantling the organization known as UNRWA would deepen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and accelerate the outbreak of famine. International experts have warned of a looming famine in northern Gaza, saying half of the territory’s 2.3 million residents could be pushed to the brink of starvation if the six-month war between Israel and Hamas intensifies .
Lazzarini said ending the agency’s activities would also have other “lasting consequences” for Gaza, leaving half a million children without education and “fueling anger, resentment and endless cycles of violence.” Moreover, it would jeopardize the transition if the war ends by depriving the people of Gaza of essential services, including health care, food and other humanitarian aid, he said.
Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan claimed, without providing evidence, that UNRWA has been fully infiltrated by Hamas, which controlled Gaza before the war. He also accused UNRWA of being part of a Palestinian plot to destroy Israel and becoming “the world’s leading advocate for a one-state solution” led by Palestinians.
“Today in Gaza, UNRWA is Hamas and Hamas is UNRWA,” Erdan said.
“Israel cannot and will not allow UNRWA to continue in Gaza as it did in the past,” he said, telling the council that there are alternative aid organizations and UN agencies that can help Palestinians in the area. “The time has come to stop funding UNRWA,” he said.
The clash over UNRWA follows Israeli accusations that 12 of the organization’s 13,000 employees in Gaza took part in Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and forced 250 others into captivity.
The allegations led to the suspension of contributions to UNRWA by the United States and more than a dozen other countries.
It also led to two investigations: one by the UN’s internal watchdog into the twelve dismissed UNRWA employees and a second, independent investigation into how the UN agency ensures its neutrality.
A report on the second investigation will be released on Monday, and Lazzarini pledged to implement the recommendations and strengthen safeguards to ensure UNRWA is neutral.
He argued that the real goal of Israel’s efforts to end UNRWA operations is “to end the refugee status of millions of Palestinians.” He called accusations that UNRWA is maintaining their refugee status “false and unfair.”
“The agency exists because there is no political solution,” Lazzarini said.
He accused the international community of trying to manage rather than resolve the more than 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He said that when a Palestinian state is established that can provide education, health care and social support, UNRWA’s role will end.
Israel received no support for abolishing UNRWA at the Security Council meeting. All 15 council members, including the United States, Israel’s closest ally, expressed support for the agency, along with Arab and European representatives.
Delighted Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour told reporters after the meeting: “Wasn’t today’s debate impressive? Everyone except one” supported UNRWA.
U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said the United States “recognizes UNRWA’s indispensable role in distributing humanitarian assistance and maintaining continuity of care in Gaza.” He called UNRWA “the foundation of support for the most vulnerable Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank.”
Wood urged Israel to end its ban on UNRWA delivering much-needed aid to Gazans, saying “lifting restrictions on its work” is critical to preventing famine .
Lazzarini told the council that since October 7, 178 UNRWA staff have been killed and more than 160 buildings, mainly used to house Palestinians, have been damaged or destroyed, killing more than 400 people. He said some UNRWA buildings vacated by the organization have been used by Israeli forces, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, and that its headquarters have been “militarily” occupied, amid allegations of tunnels under the buildings.
“We demand an independent investigation and accountability for the blatant disregard for the protected status of humanitarian workers, operations and facilities under international law,” he said.
At the start of the council meeting, members and diplomats in the audience observed a minute’s silence in tribute to all the humanitarian workers who had died.
Wood said the United States is “deeply concerned that Israel has not done enough to protect humanitarian workers and civilians.”
He reiterated President Joe Biden’s demands on April 4 to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel “implement a series of specific, concrete and measurable steps to address harm to civilians, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers.”
Lazzarini told reporters after the meeting that he never received any documents from Israel regarding Hamas’ allegations about Hamas’ involvement in UNRWA.
“There is a lot of disinformation going on,” he said, and the allegations need to be substantiated so that UNRWA can take appropriate action.
The US Congress has suspended all funding for the agency until March 2025. The United States was UNRWA’s largest donor. Lazzarini said it has contributed nearly $400 million for the current U.S. budget year, and the agency will have to make up that shortfall.
He said most countries have resumed funding UNRWA, with “only a handful” waiting for Monday’s report on its activities before making a final decision. UNRWA now has funding until the end of June, he said.