UNRWA, an essential agency for millions of Palestinians, faces difficulties
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which became the subject of controversy linked to the October 7 attack, has been a key actor for millions of Palestinians since its establishment in 1949.
The agency, which has long been subject to criticism from Israel, must investigate the role of a number of its employees in the attack carried out by the Hamas movement on Israeli territory on October 7.
UNRWA receives funding almost entirely from voluntary contributions from countries.
essential role
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East was established in December 1949 by a resolution issued by the United Nations General Assembly in the wake of the First Arab-Israeli War, which broke out the day after the declaration of the establishment of the Hebrew state.
Palestinian refugee Ibtihaj Dawla holds a picture of herself and her husband in their home in Gaza before the 1948 Nakba (AFP)
Before the establishment of UNRWA, the United Nations Program to Assist Palestine Refugees, which was established in 1948, carried out relief tasks for Palestinian refugees. The new agency assumed the tasks assigned to this program, and in addition, it was tasked with responding in a more effective way to the economic and social needs of all Palestinian refugees.
Since the start of the Arab-Israeli conflict until the adoption of the armistice in December 1949, more than 760,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes in the face of the advancing Jewish forces, or were displaced and expelled from their homes by force. Most of these took refuge in neighboring countries.
Palestinian children take shelter in a school run by UNRWA amid the Israeli war on Gaza (dpa)
Since then, UNRWA has become, in the absence of any other competent body, the only body guaranteeing the international status of Palestinian refugees, according to Agence France-Presse.
There are about 5.9 million Palestinians registered with UNRWA, and they can benefit from its services, which include education, health care, social services, camp infrastructure, microfinance, and emergency aid, including during periods of armed conflict.
There are a total of 58 refugee camps recognized by the UN agency, including 19 camps in the West Bank, the Palestinian territory that Israel has militarily occupied for 50 years.
More than 540,000 children study in UNRWA schools.
UNRWA in Gaza
The humanitarian situation was critical in the Gaza Strip, which has been ruled by Hamas since 2007, before the war between Israel and the movement began.
According to United Nations data issued last August, 63 percent of the Gaza Strip’s population suffer from food insecurity and depend on international aid. More than 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.
The small sector, located between Israel, the Mediterranean Sea and Egypt, includes 8 camps and about 1.7 million displaced people, that is, the overwhelming majority of the population, according to the United Nations.
Palestinians staying in tents in the playground of an UNRWA school (Archive – DPA)
The total population of Gaza is about 2.4 million people. Of the agency’s 30,000 employees, 13,000 people work in the Gaza Strip, distributed among more than 300 facilities located in an area of 365 square kilometers, according to the organization’s website.
Crisis of 2018
In 2018, the United States (the largest contributor to UNRWA), under President Donald Trump, stopped its annual financial aid, amounting to $300 million. Israel welcomed the American decision, accusing the UN agency of “prolonging the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” by enshrining the principle, which Israel opposes, that many Palestinians are refugees who have the right to return to their homes, that is, the lands from which they fled, or were expelled, upon the establishment of a state. Israel.
On the other hand, the Palestinians do not forget to remember that the United States annually provides more than $3 billion in military aid to Israel.
In May 2019, former US President Donald Trump’s Middle East advisor called for the end of UNRWA’s work, accusing it of having “failed in its mission.”
The agency responded, stressing that it cannot be held responsible for the deadlock that the peace process has led to between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Washington resumed providing funding starting in 2021, after the election of Joe Biden as president.
October 7th attack
On Friday, UNRWA dismissed a number of its employees (12 employees according to the United States), accused of involvement in the Hamas movement’s attack on Israel on October 7.
Schoolgirls perform a traditional Palestinian dance in a school run by UNRWA in Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip in 2019 (AFP)
The supposed facts were not determined, while an investigation was opened into this matter. Israel announced on Saturday that it no longer wants the United Nations agency to play any role in Gaza after the war.
In the wake of the above, Washington “temporarily” suspended all additional funding to the UN agency, followed by other donor countries.
In 2022, the funds received by the Agency from the regular budget of the United Nations, and from contributions from other UN entities, amounted to $44.6 million.
The main donor countries and bodies are, in order: the United States, Germany, the European Union, Sweden, and Norway, in addition to other countries: Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Switzerland.
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2024-01-28 07:11:39
