UNRWA chief ‘cautiously optimistic’ about donors’ return

The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said he was cautiously optimistic that some donors would start funding it again within weeks, warning that it would continue to rise amid Israeli claims that some of its staff were involved in the October 7 terror attack by Hamas. The agency was “at risk of death” following the attack.

Former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has launched an independent review of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the final report of which is expected to be released next month.

“I am cautiously optimistic that in the coming weeks and following the publication of Catherine Colonna’s report, some donors will return,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said in an interview broadcast with Swiss broadcaster RTS on Saturday. Attitude.”

Lazzarini told RTS that UNRWA faced “a risk of death, a risk of disbandment”.

Colonna, whose review began in mid-February, said on Saturday she would visit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Amman next week.

Canada, Sweden resume funding

UNRWA provides aid and basic services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and throughout the region, since Israel accused 12 of its 13,000 staff in Gaza of participating in an October 7 attack against Israel. , UNRWA has been in crisis. War in Palestinian enclaves.

The accusations prompted several countries, including the United States, to suspend funding.

Canada and Sweden announced this week they would resume funding for the agency, which Israel called a “serious mistake.”

“Restoring funding to UNRWA will not change the fact that the organization is part of the problem and will not be part of the solution in the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

When the allegations emerged, UNRWA fired some staff, saying it took action to protect the agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian aid and launched an independent internal UN investigation.

A report released by UNRWA in February said some staff released from Israeli detention in Gaza said they were pressured by Israeli authorities into falsely claiming staff involvement in the Oct. 7 attack.

“In the short term, the fate of the Palestinians in Gaza is at stake, and they are experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis,” Lazzarini told RTS.

One step away from famine

UNRWA operates schools, clinics and other social services in Gaza and distributes humanitarian aid. The United Nations says some 3,000 staff are still working to deliver aid to the enclave, where 576,000 people – a quarter of the population – are one step away from famine.

“The agency I currently run is the only agency that provides public services to Palestinian refugees,” Lazzarini said.

“We are para-education and primary health. If we are to get rid of such an institution, who can bring back the millions of boys and girls who are traumatized in the Gaza Strip today to a learning environment?”