The Secretary-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini warned that efforts are underway to dismantle the agency and change the established political parameters for peace in the occupied Palestinian territory. He was speaking at the opening of the Pledging Conference of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on Friday, July 12.
In his statement, Lazzarini highlighted the plight that the Palestinian people have gone through since 1948, emphasizing that what they have witnessed in Gaza and the West Bank since October 7 to date is their greatest tragedy.
Lazzarini also pointed out that the agency has been staggering under the weight of relentless attacks and paid a terrible price during the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. Since October 7, 195 UNRWA staff members have been killed, while nearly 190 of its installations have been either damaged or destroyed, killing more than 500 people who were seeking United Nations’ protection.
Furthermore, Lazzarini mentioned the restriction of movement that humanitarian workers have been subjected to in the West Bank, and the violent protests outside UNRWA’s premises in East Jerusalem that culminated in arson attacks by Israeli residents.
In May, UNRWA temporarily closed its East Jerusalem headquarters after being under attacks by Israelis for weeks. “This evening, Israeli residents set fire twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem,” Lazzarini had posted on X, “This took place while UNRWA and other UN Agencies’ staff were on the compound.” The UNRWA head then remarked that the crowd, who attacked the premises were accompanied by armed men and chanted “Burn down the United Nations”.
During the UNRWA pledging conference, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that there is no alternative for the UNRWA agency that provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, and called on countries to “Protect UNRWA, protect UNRWA staff, and protect UNRWA’s mandate – including through funding.” 118 countries affirmed that the agency is indispensable.
Lazzarini’s and Guterres’ calls on donors came after multiple attempts of the Israeli occupation government to dismantle the agency by making allegations last January that several UNRWA staff were involved in October 7 attacks. As a consequence of the allegations, donor countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Romania, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, Japan, Italy, Iceland, Germany, Finland, Estonia, Canada, Austria and Australia decided to pause sending funds to the agency.
Read more: In suspending funding to UNRWA, the West has become an active participant in Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians
However, in April 2024 an independent review for the United Nations led by a former French foreign minister showed that Israel did not present credible evidence to support its allegations. Subsequently, all countries excluding the United Kingdom, Austria, and Switzerland resumed funding to UNRWA.
Nevertheless, the Israeli occupation continued to make the same allegations regarding UNRWA staff. On Friday, July 12, the Times of Israel reported that the Israeli Foreign Ministry sent a letter to Lazzarini containing lists of 108 UNRWA staff, who are allegedly affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas and Islamic Jihad, demanding the immediate dismissal of the concerned staff.
The importance of UNRWA goes beyond the fact that the agency is the main provider of basic needs and services for millions of Palestinian refugees in different countries and areas in the region including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Dismantling UNRWA means eliminating the UN agency which enshrines the right of Palestinian refugees to return home and liquidating their just cause.
