“This is a long-term goal, because they believe that if the service is abolished, the issue of the status of Palestinian refugees will be resolved.”
An orchestrated campaign to destroy UNRWA is being led by Israel, says the agency’s head, Philippe Lazzarini.
“Today, we are faced with an extensive and coordinated campaign led by Israel, which aims to destroy UNRWA,” Philippe Lazzarini told Swiss newspaper group Tamedia, saying he believed Israel’s demand to resign itself was part of this context.
“This is a long-term political goal, because they believe that if the service is abolished, the question of the status of the Palestinian refugees will be resolved once and for all, and with it, the right of return. There is a much larger political objective behind this story,” he added.
UNRWA, created in 1949 to help Palestinian refugees, is the main humanitarian aid organization in the Gaza Strip, which is experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis due to the war caused by the attack by Hamas. Israel recently accused UNRWA of having 12 of its 13,000 workers in the Gaza Strip involved in the Hamas attack. An internal UN investigation is underway into the workers accused by Israel, from which UNRWA has been exempted, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed an independent panel to assess the agency’s “neutrality”. In the wake of the Israeli accusations, major donor countries suspended their funding of the service.
“Just look at the number of actions Israel has taken against UNRWA,” Lazzarini said, referring to the order given to companies operating in the Israeli port of Ashdod “to stop unloading certain food shipments for UNRWA.”
According to Lazzarini, more than 150 UNWRA facilities have been affected since the war in the Gaza Strip began more than four months ago.
Israel asked Lazzarini to resign after Israeli authorities claimed that one of the tunnels used by Hamas was uncovered under the agency’s headquarters in Gaza.
Lazzarini explained that the tunnel was 20 meters below the surface of the earth and that UNRWA, as a humanitarian organization, had no way of discovering the existence of a facility at such a depth.
Criticism of Israel “is not directed at me personally but at the entire organization. These calls for my resignation are part of a campaign to destroy UNRWA,” he stressed.
According to him, funds amounting to about $438 million – more than half of the expected revenue for 2024 – have been frozen.
“If all countries continue with the suspension of payments, then UNRWA’s funding will quickly be in serious jeopardy,” he warned. « “From March onwards, expenditure will exceed income. And without new donors, UNRWA will be forced to cease operations in April,” he added.
He clarified that this applies to the Gaza Strip, but also to activities taking place in the West Bank, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
The UN official said he has met with donors and that some of them are “ready to rethink their decision”. He clarified that the European Commission will re-pay its contribution of around 82 million euros from March.
