What does the UNRWA crisis mean for Palestinian refugees outside Gaza?
The possibility that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) will be forced to stop its services by the end of February adds to the despair in refugee camps across the Middle East, where the agency has long been a lifeline for millions.
This possibility also raises concern in Arab countries that host refugees and do not have the necessary resources to fill the gap and fear that any cessation of UNRWA services will lead to significant destabilization, according to Reuters news agency.
UNRWA, which provides health care, education and other services, has been experiencing a major crisis since Israel said that 12 of the agency’s 13,000 employees in Gaza participated in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7. Which caused the outbreak of war in the sector. This prompted donors to suspend funding for the agency.
UNRWA hopes that these donors will review their decision once an initial report on these allegations is published in the next few weeks.
The importance of UNRWA for the Palestinians goes beyond merely obtaining vital services, as they view its presence as being linked to preserving their rights as refugees, especially their hope of returning to their homes from which they or their ancestors fled or were expelled during the war that accompanied the establishment of Israel in 1948.
In Burj al-Barajneh camp on the outskirts of Beirut, Raghda al-Arabji said that she relies on UNRWA to educate two of her children and cover the medical bills of a third child who suffers from an eye problem.
Raghda (44 years old) said: “For example, I have two children in school. I do not pay books, I do not pay stationery, I do not pay registration fees, and I do not pay school fees. And I benefit from UNRWA as a doctor… If UNRWA doesn’t have all this, I can’t do it.”
She added that the agency also paid for cancer treatment for her late husband, who died five months ago.
Raghda said that Burj el-Barajneh; It is a residential area made up of deplorable buildings and narrow streets. UNRWA depends on it in various ways, including programs that provide $20 a day to workers, which is an important income for refugees who are prevented from obtaining many jobs in Lebanon.
She described the difficult situation that the Palestinians are experiencing in Lebanon, saying: “We are dead and we are alive.”
She appealed to donors to continue funding UNRWA: “Do not kill our hope. There are many things that I find difficult and difficult.”
Right of Return
The Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established in 1949 to provide vital services to refugees.
The agency currently provides services to approximately 5.9 million Palestinians across the region. More than half a million children enroll in its schools, and its clinics receive more than seven million visits every year, according to the UNRWA website.
Juliette Touma, director of communications at UNRWA, said in an interview with Reuters: “The role played by this agency in protecting the rights of Palestinian refugees is essential.”
UNRWA said that if the accusations against its 12 employees are true, they represent a betrayal of the values of the United Nations and the people it serves.
The Hamas-led attack resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the detention of 240 others, according to Israeli statistics. Since then, an Israeli attack has killed more than 27,000 people in Gaza, according to health officials in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
Israel wants to stop the work of UNRWA.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on January 31: “It seeks to preserve the Palestinian refugee issue.” We must replace UNRWA with other UN agencies and other aid agencies if we want to solve the Gaza problem as we plan.
In Jordan, Palestinians organized protests against any such move, and banners were raised during a protest organized on February 2 in Amman with the slogan “The destruction of UNRWA will not pass… Yes to the right of return.”
Helmy Aql said: He is a refugee who was born in the Baqaa Palestinian refugee camp, 20 kilometers north of Amman. His UNRWA ration card “proves that I and my children are refugees… it preserves my rights.”
“Disastrous situation”
Arab countries hosting refugees have long supported the right of Palestinians to return, rejecting any suggestion that they should be resettled in the countries to which they fled in 1948.
This issue in Lebanon raises long-standing concerns about how the presence of these Sunni-majority refugees affects the sectarian balance in Lebanon.
UNRWA estimates the number of Palestinian refugees residing in Lebanon at up to 250,000.
Hector Hajjar, Minister of Social Affairs in the Lebanese caretaker government, said that the decisions of donor countries to suspend aid are unfair and politically motivated, and their repercussions will be “catastrophic” for the Palestinians.
He added, in an interview with Reuters: “If anyone sees the camps in any conditions, in miserable conditions… If we prevent the Palestinian, what will we tell him to do? We will tell him that he will go to death or go to extremism.”
He added that the decision would destabilize the Lebanese, as well as the Palestinians and refugees fleeing the war in neighboring Syria.
In Jordan, the UNRWA crisis has highlighted long-standing concerns. Jordan hosts about two million registered Palestinian refugees, most of whom hold Jordanian citizenship. Officials fear that any move to dismantle UNRWA will weaken their right to return, shifting the burden to Jordan.
Norway said; It is one of the donors that did not cut its funding to the agency. It is somewhat optimistic that some of the countries that temporarily suspended its funding will resume it, noting that the situation cannot continue for long.
The United States said that UNRWA needs to make “fundamental changes” before funding can resume.
Musa Ibrahim Derawi expressed: A refugee in Burj el-Barajneh, Beirut, he expressed his fear for Palestinian children if UNRWA schools were forced to close their doors.
He added: “You are helping to ignore an entire generation.” When you are not able to put your son in school, you want to leave him in the street. What does the street raise?
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2024-02-07 14:15:53
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