UN agency for Palestinians facing its ‘darkest hour’, UNRWA chief says

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is facing its “darkest hour” and requires ongoing enactment from UN members aft Israel’s determination to prohibition the organisation, its main has said.

“Without involution by subordinate states, UNRWA volition collapse, plunging millions of Palestinians into chaos,” Philippe Lazzarini, the agency’s commissioner-general, told the UN General Assembly successful New York connected Wednesday.

He called connected the UN – which created UNRWA successful 1949 – to forestall implementation of the prohibition connected the organisation successful Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

In a statement connected Monday, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it cancelled a practice statement from 1967 which provided the ineligible ground of the country’s relations with UNRWA.

“UNRWA – the organisation whose employees participated successful the October 7 massacre and galore of whose employees are Hamas operatives – is portion of the occupation successful the Gaza Strip and not portion of the solution,” said Israel Katz, the country’s recently appointed defence minister, who was overseas curate astatine the time.

In January, Israel claimed that a twelve of UNRWA’s Gaza employees were progressive successful the October 7, 2023 onslaught connected Israel by Hamas. At the time, the UN launched an probe into Israel’s allegations and terminated the contracts of 9 unit members who were accused. However, Lazzarini said that contempt aggregate requests, Israel has not provided immoderate grounds to enactment its claims.

UNRWA said it takes measures to guarantee its neutrality.

But the Israeli prohibition has raised fears that UNRWA employees volition suffer their quality to coordinate with Israeli authorities to transverse checkpoints and determination from 1 spot to different successful the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

UNRWA provides education, healthcare and different basal services to Palestinian refugees displaced successful 1948 during Israel’s creation, and their descendants, who present fig astir six million. Refugee families marque up the bulk of Gaza’s 2.3 cardinal population.

“In Gaza, dismantling UNRWA volition illness the UN humanitarian response, which relies heavy connected the agency’s infrastructure,” Lazzarini said.

“In the lack of a susceptible nationalist medication oregon state, lone UNRWA tin present acquisition to much than 650,000 girls and boys successful Gaza. In the lack of UNRWA, an full procreation volition beryllium denied the close to education,” helium said.

‘Time to determination on’

Since Israel’s warfare connected Gaza began past October, UNRWA itself has suffered dense losses, with astatine slightest 223 of its unit killed and two-thirds of its facilities successful Gaza damaged oregon destroyed.

Riyad Mansour, the imperishable perceiver for the State of Palestine astatine the UN, told the General Assembly that the prohibition connected UNRWA “is impervious of the Israeli genocide successful Gaza”.

Meanwhile, Hadi Hashim, the interim typical for Lebanon astatine the UN, said Israel’s prohibition was a “war crime” and noted that UNRWA was important not lone successful Gaza and the occupied West Bank, but besides successful Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

“We telephone connected the General Assembly to instrumentality the indispensable and urgent measures legally and politically to basal against this onslaught not lone against UNWRA, but against america all,” helium said.

Jordan, South Africa and the European Union besides condemned the Israeli government’s determination to prohibition the UN agency.

But Israeli ambassador Danny Danon called the bureau “a failure”.

“UNRWA is shielded by a misconception that it is the backbone of humanitarian efforts successful Gaza,” helium said. “It is clip to determination connected and physique a caller way truthful the UN tin regain its integrity and present connected its committedness to enactment bid and security.”

Israeli authorities person agelong called for the bureau to beryllium dismantled, arguing that its ngo is obsolete and it fosters anti-Israel sentiment among its staff, successful its schools and successful its wider societal mission. UNRWA powerfully disputes this characterisation.

In the past, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has besides called connected the United States, Israel’s apical state and the agency’s biggest donor, to rotation backmost its support.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies