Ramallah: A UN agency’s proposal to hand over some services for Palestinian refugees to other UN agencies has sparked outrage among Palestinians, who have warned of a plot to “dismember” the body.
Established in 1949, a year after the creation of Israel, UNRWA is the only major United Nations body dedicated exclusively to one conflict and one people and holds a symbolic role that experts say is a provider for Palestinian refugees. corresponds to its importance.
The agency has long been a target of criticism of Israel, with allegations it has fueled conflict by teaching anti-Semitic messages in its schools.
UNRWA is “not just about the delivery of services,” said Mohamed Shehada, of the Swiss-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor.
“As long as there is UNRWA, it is a reminder that it is the responsibility of the international community to resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees,” he said.
The agency tasked with aiding Palestinians who were forced from their homes during the war surrounding the creation of Israel – and their descendants – has been facing a lack of funds for years, regularly exceeding its stated needs. Millions of dollars are being lost.
At first glance, the announcement by agency head Philippe Lazzarini last month that UNRWA could ask other UN bodies to help with service delivery may seem like a dreary, bureaucratic cost-sharing scheme.
He said in a statement that counting primarily “on voluntary funding from donors” would not be appropriate. “One option that is currently being explored is to maximize participation within the broader United Nations system.”
The Palestinians saw those comments as a potentially devastating blow to UNRWA’s long-term mission.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Shtayyeh said the plan would “violate” UN resolutions establishing the UNRWA, while the Palestine Liberation Organization said the refugees would be outraged.
Mohamed al-Madhoun, a senior Hamas official that controls the Gaza Strip, described the proposal as “an attempt to dismantle UNRWA” to end its work.
With more than 30,000 employees and a budget of about $1.6 billion this year, UNRWA is a leader of health care, education and other services for some 5.7 million Palestinian refugees spread across the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank as well as Lebanon, Syria is the provider. and Jordan.
Former US President Donald Trump has publicly sided with Israel in destroying UNRWA and cutting its funding.
The agency has strongly defended its school curriculum against pro-Israel critics, although Lazzarini told EU lawmakers last year that problematic issues were being “resolved”.
President Joe Biden’s administration has since restored funding, but Lazzarini warned in November that UNRWA was facing an “existential threat” over the budget gap.
Agency spokeswoman Tamara Alrifai said this year would see another $100 million shortfall that “could worsen given the rising cost of commodities and food that has been instigated by the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.”