The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is the leading institution dedicated to the humanitarian needs of the besieged people in the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s devastating war, which has left more than 43,000 people dead, nearly half that number orphaned, and more than 100,000 wounded. And yet, Israel has repeatedly said it would like UNRWA to be banned.
The Israeli government has said that a 10th of UNRWA employees are linked to Hamas and that some of them were involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in which more than a thousand Israelis were killed and more than 250 abducted. (Nine UNRWA employees were fired by the agency upon an investigation. They “may have been involved,” U.N.’s internal oversight arm concluded upon an investigation.)
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is the leading institution dedicated to the humanitarian needs of the besieged people in the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s devastating war, which has left more than 43,000 people dead, nearly half that number orphaned, and more than 100,000 wounded. And yet, Israel has repeatedly said it would like UNRWA to be banned.
The Israeli government has said that a 10th of UNRWA employees are linked to Hamas and that some of them were involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in which more than a thousand Israelis were killed and more than 250 abducted. (Nine UNRWA employees were fired by the agency upon an investigation. They “may have been involved,” U.N.’s internal oversight arm concluded upon an investigation.)
There has also been some evidence of Hamas tunnels under UNRWA schools, although the agency has said that whenever suspected tunnels are discovered under UNRWA facilities, it seals the cavities “by injecting cement” and promptly informs all stakeholders.
But the biggest reason behind the Israeli push to get rid of the agency seems to be something else.
Israelis who support the ban and those who oppose it agree that one of its main motivations is that UNRWA allows the passing of refugee status from one generation of Palestinians to another. Eliminating the agency could thus help eliminate Palestinians’ claims of a right to return to their land.
For decades, UNRWA has been responsible for emergency aid and basic services such as health care and education for Palestinians in........