AMMAN, (PIC)
When Israeli occupation forces target the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), it becomes clear that the goal goes beyond the UN organization itself, aiming instead to erase the refugee issue entirely—a key factor behind Israel’s opposition to the agency.
Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, the occupation has intensified its attacks on UNRWA, accusing several of its staff in Gaza of involvement in the Palestinian resistance’s October 7, 2023 attack. On October 28, 2024, the Israeli Knesset formally approved a law banning UNRWA’s activities, and on November 4, Israel notified the UN of its decision to terminate its agreement with the agency. The law, set to take effect within 90 days, prohibits UNRWA’s operations in areas under Israeli control.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that implementing such a ban could have devastating consequences for Palestinian refugees in the occupied territories, calling it “unacceptable.”
UNRWA enjoys international support
Despite Israel’s ongoing campaign against UNRWA, the agency continues to receive moral and political support from 165 UN member states.
Ali Huweidi, director of the 302 Advocacy Group for Refugee Rights, In an exclusive interview with the Palestinian Information Center, highlighted that the most significant challenge facing UNRWA is funding. Contributions from donor states are often influenced by political pressures from the Zionist lobby, which seeks to weaken the agency by cutting its resources, thus limiting its ability to fulfill its mandate.
For Israel, dismantling UNRWA is a step toward eliminating the refugee issue and the right of return. Huweidi explained that Israel’s broader strategy has two dimensions: first, absolving itself of the Nakba (the 1948 Palestinian catastrophe) by erasing the refugee status, and second, consolidating its legitimacy in the UN by nullifying Resolution 194, which enshrines the right of return.
Efforts to find alternatives
Experts warn that banning UNRWA’s operations in the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem will have severe humanitarian implications, disrupting essential services.
UNRWA employs around 13,000 staff in Gaza and 3,500 in the West Bank. There are approximately 1 million registered refugees in the West Bank and 1.7 million in Gaza. According to Huweidi, Israel is attempting to establish alternative organizations to replace UNRWA. Failing this, the Knesset has granted the government 90 days to enforce the ban.
In Jerusalem, this strategy has already led parents to move their children from UNRWA schools to those run by the Israeli municipality. Moreover, staff at UNRWA’s headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah have been given 12 months to find alternative jobs. Some international staff are expected to be relocated to Jordan. These measures, Huweidi notes, aim to entrench Israel’s control over Jerusalem and undermine Palestinian refugees’ right to self-determination and return.
Resolution 194 and the Right of Return
For many Palestinians, eliminating UNRWA equates to an attempt to nullify the right of return. However, Huweidi argues that the two are not directly linked. While UNRWA was established in 1949 under Resolution 302, the right of return predates it, being enshrined in Resolution 194 in 1948. The right of return, he stressed, is both individual and collective, inalienable under international law, and applies to refugees and their descendants.
Huweidi also pointed out that Israel is working to narrow the definition of a Palestinian refugee to those who were displaced in 1948, ignoring their descendants.
Legal expert Anis Qassem concurred, In an exclusive interview with the Palestinian Information Center, stating that dissolving UNRWA does not negate the right of return. Israel’s efforts to dismantle the agency are intended to erase the refugee issue, which UNRWA symbolizes until Resolution 194’s provisions are implemented.
The root of hostility
Israel’s antagonism toward UNRWA is longstanding. Since the Nakba, Israel has resisted Resolution 194 because implementing it would jeopardize the state’s Jewish identity. Count Folke Bernadotte, a UN mediator in 1948, identified the refugee issue as central to peace in the Middle East and drafted the resolution on their right to return. However, Israel continues to reject it, believing that time will erase the refugee problem. Yet, the resilience of Palestinians, especially in Gaza, proves otherwise.
UN resolutions, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions and UNGA Resolution 3236, reaffirm Palestinians’ inalienable right to return. Resolution 194, often reiterated by the international community, is a legal acknowledgment of this right, though Israel persistently evades its obligations.
In light of the Knesset’s recent decision, Qassem stressed that Israel lacks the authority to close a UN agency’s offices. “UNRWA was established by the United Nations, not a national body,” he said, calling Israel’s actions in Jerusalem a form of “bullying” and urging the UN to protect its institutions.
