The UN aid organization for Palestinian refugees cannot be replaced any time soon. With a political solution, the end of UNRWA would be possible.
UNRWA distribution of relief supplies in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, November 2023 Photo: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
Just in time for the end of the week, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) is appealing for donations, as it has always done since the start of the latest war in the Gaza Strip. Loop. These days, however, the appeal and the dramatic reference to the catastrophic humanitarian situation of around two million people in the coastal zone has a stale aftertaste. UNRWA employees are said to have participated in the brutal Hamas attack and supported the terrorist militia.
The Israeli government leaked evidence from its intelligence agencies to the American media. This involves direct participation in the October 7 massacre and about 10 percent of all UNRWA employees who allegedly have connections with Hamas. It is known that, in addition to the terrorists, on October 7, civilians also murdered, looted and kidnapped Israeli citizens. However, there is no evidence that UNRWA employees were directly involved.
The documents available to the Israeli secret services have not been published and some statements are contradictory, as shown by a current report by Sky News, which no longer mentions twelve people allegedly involved, but only six people. In fact, the accusations are not a surprise, as there have been discussions for years about textbooks spreading anti-Semitic hate images in UNRWA schools.
However, compared to the organization's approximately 13,000 employees, the number of people who support Hamas is apparently quite small. The deployment of aid organizations in crisis zones must be accepted unconditionally. This is what humanity demands. And at the same time, working with local partners always involves residual risk. This is also the case in the Gaza Strip, where UNRWA is one of the largest employers. Where does the money go? Who supports which militias?
Structures that have grown over decades.
Of course, there must be control mechanisms to prevent misuse of aid funds. If UNRWA donor countries do not immediately resume payments, there is a risk of mass deaths. This also affects the federal government, which rightly presses for a complete clarification of the accusations. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini launched an investigation. What seems easy is simply not possible right now.
An immediate handover to other organizations is not possible simply because of the distribution structures in Gaza that have developed over decades. Replacing them would take time. Time that the Palestinian civilian population does not have. But the biggest challenge is reforming UNRWA's mission. The anchored right of return for all Palestinian refugees is fundamental. Where? There is currently no valid plan for this that has political support.
Since 1949, with the founding of UNRWA, Palestinian refugees have depended on international organizations. Not only in Gaza and the West Bank, but also in Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere. Integration into the respective social systems of the federated states was not desired there. The permanent acceptance of Palestinian refugees was not planned, not by most of the host states and even less so by the PLO.
Irreplaceable life line
The end of UNRWA will come when there is a two-state solution of any kind, that is, the establishment of a Palestinian state in which refugees and their descendants can live if they choose to do so. From Israel's perspective, this plan is ruled out, but in these weeks the United States and Germany in particular are pushing for the two-state solution.
Maintaining pressure on Jerusalem and pushing for a diplomatic solution is the order of the day. Until that happens, what the aid organization writes in its appeal applies: the people of Gaza depend on UNRWA, their irreplaceable lifeline.