The Israeli legislature has enacted two laws that could jeopardize the operations of the United Nations agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, which serves as a significant aid provider to Gaza. The laws prohibit the operations of the agency, known as UNRWA, and sever all connections between it and the Israeli government. This move is seen as the climax of an ongoing campaign against the organization, which Israel accuses of being infiltrated by Hamas.
Supporters of UNRWA, however, argue that Israel’s primary objective is to marginalize the Palestinian refugee issue. UNRWA is the principal aid distributor in Gaza, providing essential services such as education, health, and basic services to millions of Palestinian refugees in the region, including those in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The laws, if enforced, pose a significant threat to the agency’s operations in Israel and the Palestinian territories, as Israel controls access to both Gaza and the West Bank. This could result in UNRWA having to move its headquarters from east Jerusalem, which is annexed by Israel.
Israel alleges that the agency has been complicit in turning a blind eye to staff members who are part of Hamas, who divert aid and use UNRWA facilities for military purposes. The agency refutes these claims, stating that it swiftly acts to eradicate any suspected militants among its staff.
The UNRWA, established to assist the estimated 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from what is now Israel during the 1948 war, operates schools, health clinics, infrastructure projects, and aid programs in refugee camps across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. The issue of Palestinian refugees is a key sticking point in the peace process, which has been stagnant since 2009.
Supporters of the UNRWA argue that Israel’s aim is to dismantle the agency to eliminate the Palestinian refugee issue. Palestinians, on the other hand, insist that refugees and their descendants, who now number nearly 6 million, should have the right to return to their homeland, a proposition Israel rejects.
