What is UNRWA and why is Israel preventing it from working?

Jakarta –

Israel is being asked to reconsider its decision to ban the Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) from operating in the country.

Until now, UNRWA is considered a lifeline in Gaza amid an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis.

Many countries, including Israel’s main allies such as the United States, Great Britain and Germany, have expressed great concern about the ban.

It is considered that Israel’s decision has a significant impact on the ability of UNRWA, which until now has been very limited to provide basic services to the residents of Gaza. This rule also limits UNRWA’s activities in the West Bank.

The Draft Law (RUU) regarding the ban will come into effect within three months.

“This is the latest campaign to discredit UNRWA,” said UNRWA Commissioner General Phillipe Lazzarini.

“This draft law will only worsen the suffering of the Palestinian people,” he continued.

What is UNRWA?

UNRWA is an abbreviation for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Southeast or United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the East.

This institution operates schools, social services, health centers and distributes food aid to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and other areas.

When was UNRWA founded?

UNRWA was established in 1949 to assist Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war that led to the establishment of the state of Israel.

Up to 750,000 Palestinians were displaced from their land in what they call the ‘Nakhba’ or catastrophe.

The institute says it has contributed to “the prosperity and human development of four generations of Palestinian refugees”.

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Who does UNRWA serve?

Currently, approximately 5.9 million Palestinian refugees are eligible for UNRWA services.

Of that number, more than 1.5 million people live in 58 refugee camps registered with UNRWA.

These camps are spread over Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip, to the West Bank including East Jerusalem.

More than 871,000 registered refugees live in the West Bank, around a quarter of them in 19 refugee camps.

UNRWA is headquartered in Amman and Gaza. This institution also has representative offices in its areas of operation, namely Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza.

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What is UNRWA doing in Gaza?

There are approximately 1.4 million refugees in Gaza and eight refugee camps registered with UNRWA.

As of October 7, 2023, most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have fled south. At least one Palestinian now lives in an UNRWA camp.

This organization has 13,000 employees and is the largest UN organization in Gaza.

UNRWA operates health and education facilities, including teacher training centers and nearly 300 primary schools. This institution also produces textbooks to educate young Palestinians.

What has happened since the Israel-Gaza conflict?

More than 42,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed since Israel launched airstrikes and invaded Gaza in response to Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023.

UNRWA said at least 231 of its staff in Gaza were also killed.

According to the UN, approximately 1.9 million Gazans (90% of the population) are refugees within the region. Many of them are moved again and again, up to 10 times or more.

Since Israel began a new military offensive in northern Gaza in October, humanitarian groups say almost no aid has entered the area.

Israel’s own data shows that aid deliveries to Gaza have fallen compared to September.

Before the October 7 attack, up to 500 aid trucks entered Gaza every day. But in the first 10 days of October this year, only 30 trucks were allowed to enter each day, the lowest number recorded since the conflict.

The Integrated Food Security Level Classification (IPC) supported by the UN states that approximately 1.84 million people experience high levels of food insecurity.

As many as 664,000 people are experiencing “emergency” level hunger and nearly 133,000 are facing “disaster” level hunger in Gaza.

How are UNRWA’s activities financed?

Most of UNRWA’s activities are funded by voluntary aid and funds from donor countries.

The largest donor of this institution is the USA, which will send US $ 422 million (Rp. 6.6 trillion) in 2023. Germany is the second largest donor, sending US $ 212.8 million (Rp. 3.3 trillion).

These two countries contributed most of UNRWA’s funding, which amounted to US$1.46 billion.

Why did Israel ban UNRWA?

Israel accuses UNRWA of collaborating with Hamas in Gaza.

For several decades, Israel has been against this institution. However, tensions between the two reached a peak after the events of October 7, in which Hamas attacked Israel and killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages.

Israel later claimed that several UNRWA workers were involved in the attack.

The UN then launched an investigation and nine staff members were dismissed in August.

The agency said it thoroughly checked the references and background information of all employees, even sharing a list of employees with Israel.

This problem had forced donor countries to stop funding UNRWA. Most have resumed donations, with the exception of the US as UNRWA’s largest donor.

The US said it would not start aid until UNRWA made “substantial progress”.

What is the UN’s response?

The UN Secretary-General, Antnio Guterres, has warned that the ban would have “terrible consequences” if it were to be implemented.

According to him, it would “harm efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as peace and security in the region as a whole”.

The Director of UNRWA, William Deere, admitted that he was not sure if his organization had a backup plan after Israel decided to ban its work.

“We are the backbone of humanitarian aid [di Gaza]”, he told the BBC.

Read also:

Watch the video ‘Death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza reaches 43 thousand’:

[Gambas:Video 20detik]

(eng/ita)