UNRWA chief: Israel launches campaign to eliminate Palestinian aid agency

The head of the embattled United Nations agency aiding Palestinian refugees accused Israel on Monday of launching a campaign to eliminate Palestinian refugees, while more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza rely on their services to survive.

“UNRWA is facing a deliberate, coordinated campaign aimed at undermining and ultimately ending its operations,” Director-General Filippo Lazzarini told a special session of the UN General Assembly.

UNRWA is the abbreviation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

“Part of this campaign involved providing donors with substantial amounts of false information designed to foster distrust and damage the institution’s reputation,” he said.

UNRWA faces an existential crisis after Israel provided Lazzarini with information in January accusing 12 UNRWA staff members of involvement in an October 7 terrorist attack in Israel. In response, 16 donors suspended funding totaling more than $450 million.

“I have not received any further information since that day, but the seriousness of the allegations required prompt action,” Lazzarini said. “In the interest of the agency, I terminated the contract of the employee involved.”

He later told reporters that there were many “allegations, misinformation, disinformation or at least unsubstantiated statements” about UNRWA, which Israel shared mostly through social media or the media, “but not necessarily with the United Nations.”

An internal investigation was launched on January 29, while an independent review led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna and a panel of three Scandinavian think tanks is assessing the agency’s neutrality. Their final report is due in April.

Lazzarini said UNRWA was at a “breaking point” and could not withstand the financial hit of a funding freeze, especially during a war.

“The fate of this agency and the millions of people who depend on it hang in the balance,” he said.

UNRWA also operates in the West Bank and provides services to large numbers of Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Nearly 6 million Palestinians are eligible for UNRWA services, including education and health care.

criticism of israel

Israeli officials have criticized the agency for years, claiming Hamas uses its schools to carry out terror activities, stockpile weapons inside and build tunnels beneath them. It also said the school promotes anti-Israel curriculum.

Following the charges against 12 staff members on October 7, rhetoric in Israel intensified, with officials ranging from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for UNRWA to be disbanded.

Israel’s envoy to the United Nations said on Monday that UNRWA “has always been part of the problem, not part of the solution” even before the Oct. 7 attacks.

“UNRWA will never again operate in Gaza as it did before October 7,” Gilad Erdan said. “Its role in Gaza has ended and must be replaced immediately. UNRWA must Divest and dissolve.”

While some donors, including the United States, the top donor, have suspended funding, others have maintained or increased contributions. Qatar’s ambassador announced an additional $25 million to the agency, and the EU said it would release $54 million as part of nearly $89 million committed to the agency in 2024.

Thailand provided an additional $80,000, and Mexico said it would pay $1 million to UNRWA this week. Saudi Arabia said it would announce additional funding soon.

Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour said Israel’s accusations against UNRWA were “slanderous” and called for Israel to be held accountable for its actions in the war.

“Where does the responsibility lie for Israel to kill 158 UNRWA staff, including parents and their children and family members who were killed?” he asked. “Where does the responsibility lie for Israel’s destruction of 155 UNRWA facilities and, more seriously, the killing and injury of Palestinian civilians who desperately seek refuge under the UN flag but cannot receive protection from the UN?”

UNRWA says more than 400 Palestinian civilians have been killed while seeking refuge in its camps since the war between Israel and Hamas began.

UNRWA was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1949 to assist the approximately 700,000 Palestinian refugees displaced after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War (which broke out after the establishment of the state of Israel in May of that year).

UNRWA has been a temporary solution, but in the absence of a political settlement between Palestinians and Israelis, it continues to fulfill its mandate.