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The UN Palestinian refugee agency warned on Friday that dismantling it would undermine the Gaza ceasefire agreement and sabotage the enclave's recovery and political transition.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, spoke to reporters after a closed-door briefing to the UN Security Council to stress that the agency’s disintegration would “immeasurably” worsen the already catastrophic living conditions of Palestinians in Gaza.
“In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority has stated clearly that it does not have the financial resources or capacity to compensate for the loss of UNRWA’s services,” he said.
Mr Lazzarini said his organisation’s ability to directly provide education and health care far exceeds that of any other entity and these services can only be transferred to a “functioning state”.
He criticised a “fierce, global disinformation” campaign against the agency, citing intense diplomatic pressure from Israel.
The UNRWA chief told the Security Council that Israeli officials and their affiliates have been lobbying parliaments and governments in major donor countries. He also pointed to recent billboards and advertisements in cities like New York that accused UNRWA of terrorism.
He said these advertisements were paid for by the Israeli foreign affairs ministry, which had received a funding boost of $150 million – about one sixth of UNRWA’s annual operating budget – for such propaganda.
In less than two weeks, the Israeli laws banning UNRWA’s operations in the occupied Palestinian Territories will take effect.
“Full implementation will be catastrophic,” Mr Lazzarini said.
Nicolas De Riviere, France’s UN envoy, told reporters that UNRWA remains “absolutely indispensable” in Gaza, in the West Bank and beyond.
“It would be quite a contradiction to close UNRWA while implementing the ceasefire agreement. Because, on the one hand you will try to improve the situation in Gaza, to improve the humanitarian situation. On the other hand, since there is no credible Plan B for UNRWA. Gaza would just suffer and the situation will further deteriorate. So I think there is that obvious contradiction. So we will discuss that,” Mr De Riviere said.
In October, Israel passed laws in the Knesset that would prohibit the UN agency’s operations in areas under Israeli control and bar Israeli officials from co-ordinating with UNRWA personnel.
Israel claims that a dozen UNRWA employees colluded with the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023.
A series of probes, including one led by France's former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some “neutrality-related issues” at UNRWA but stressed that Israel had not provided evidence supporting its allegations.
