The United Nations Aid and Works Company for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is dealing with its “darkest hour” and requires ongoing assist from UN members after Israel’s choice to ban the organisation, its chief has mentioned.
“With out intervention by member states, UNRWA will collapse, plunging thousands and thousands of Palestinians into chaos,” Philippe Lazzarini, the company’s commissioner-general, informed the UN Normal Meeting in New York on Wednesday.
He referred to as on the UN – which created UNRWA in 1949 – to stop implementation of the ban on the organisation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
In an announcement on Monday, the Israeli Ministry of International Affairs mentioned it cancelled a cooperation settlement from 1967 which supplied the authorized foundation of the nation’s relations with UNRWA.
“UNRWA – the organisation whose staff participated within the October 7 bloodbath and lots of of whose staff are Hamas operatives – is a part of the issue within the Gaza Strip and never a part of the answer,” mentioned Israel Katz, the nation’s newly appointed defence minister, who was international minister on the time.
In January, Israel claimed {that a} dozen of UNRWA’s Gaza staff had been concerned within the October 7, 2023 assault on Israel by Hamas. On the time, the UN launched an investigation into Israel’s allegations and terminated the contracts of 9 employees members who had been accused. Nonetheless, Lazzarini mentioned that regardless of a number of requests, Israel has not supplied any proof to assist its claims.
UNRWA mentioned it takes measures to make sure its neutrality.
However the Israeli ban has raised fears that UNRWA staff will lose their skill to coordinate with Israeli authorities to cross checkpoints and transfer from one place to a different within the occupied West Financial institution and Gaza.
UNRWA offers schooling, healthcare and different primary providers to Palestinian refugees displaced in 1948 throughout Israel’s creation, and their descendants, who now quantity practically six million. Refugee households make up nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants.
“In Gaza, dismantling UNRWA will collapse the UN humanitarian response, which depends closely on the company’s infrastructure,” Lazzarini mentioned.
“Within the absence of a succesful public administration or state, solely UNRWA can ship schooling to greater than 650,000 ladies and boys in Gaza. Within the absence of UNRWA, a whole era can be denied the correct to schooling,” he mentioned.
‘Time to maneuver on’
Since Israel’s battle on Gaza started final October, UNRWA itself has suffered heavy losses, with not less than 223 of its employees killed and two-thirds of its services in Gaza broken or destroyed.
Riyad Mansour, the everlasting observer for the State of Palestine on the UN, informed the Normal Meeting that the ban on UNRWA “is proof of the Israeli genocide in Gaza”.
In the meantime, Hadi Hashim, the interim consultant for Lebanon on the UN, mentioned Israel’s ban was a “battle crime” and famous that UNRWA was essential not solely in Gaza and the occupied West Financial institution, but additionally in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
“We name on the Normal Meeting to take the required and pressing measures legally and politically to face in opposition to this assault not solely in opposition to UNWRA, however in opposition to us all,” he mentioned.
Jordan, South Africa and the European Union additionally condemned the Israeli authorities’s choice to ban the UN company.
However Israeli ambassador Danny Danon referred to as the company “a failure”.
“UNRWA is shielded by a false impression that it’s the spine of humanitarian efforts in Gaza,” he mentioned. “It’s time to transfer on and construct a brand new path so the UN can regain its integrity and ship on its promise to assist peace and safety.”
Israeli authorities have lengthy referred to as for the company to be dismantled, arguing that its mission is out of date and it fosters anti-Israel sentiment amongst its employees, in its faculties and in its wider social mission. UNRWA strongly disputes this characterisation.
Up to now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has additionally referred to as on the USA, Israel’s high ally and the company’s largest donor, to roll again its assist.