A debate has flared between the United Nations and Israel over who will fill the void if the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) stops operating in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, later this month when an Israeli law is implemented.
UNRWA is still working in the Palestinian territories, but the future is unknown for the agency, which is about 75 years old, when the law prohibiting its work in Israeli territory and its contact with the Israeli authorities comes into force.
The Knesset (Israeli Parliament) approved the law in October 2024, and it will enter into force at the end of this month.
Since the law was passed, Israel and the United Nations have exchanged letters. Shortly after, the latter informed Israel that it was not the responsibility of the international organization to offer an alternative to UNRWA in the Palestinian territories.
In a letter to the UN General Assembly and UN Security Council late on Thursday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that if UNRWA was forced to stop operating, Israel would “have to ensure that the range of services and assistance that the agency has been providing is provided in accordance with its obligations under UNRWA.” International law.
Guterres wrote that other UN agencies are prepared to continue providing services and assistance to the Palestinians to the extent they can, but this “should not be viewed as an exemption for Israel from its obligations.”
He also said that UNRWA cannot be replaced in the unique role it plays. UN officials say that the health, educational and social services provided by UNRWA in the Palestinian territories will be most affected because other agencies cannot match their ability to provide such assistance.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, has argued that “it is not at all impossible to replace UNRWA with relief plans that provide sufficient basic assistance to Palestinian civilians.” He pointed out that there are other UN agencies ready to provide the necessary support “as they do in other places in the world.”
In a letter to the international body on December 18, Danon said the new legislation “in no way undermines Israel’s firm commitment to international law.” He also rejected the United Nations’ demand that Israel bear responsibility for filling any vacuum that UNRWA may leave.
He wrote that Israel does not exercise effective control over Gaza and is therefore not an occupying force, and that the law of military occupation does not apply either. He stated that the Palestinian Authority’s responsibility for civil affairs in the West Bank “should not be overlooked.”
Danon also said, “In Jerusalem, all residents have the right to obtain government and municipal services under Israeli law,” including health and education services. It is worth noting that East Jerusalem was annexed in a move not recognized internationally.
The United Nations considers Gaza and the West Bank – including East Jerusalem – territories occupied by Israel. International law requires the occupying power to approve and facilitate relief programs and ensure the provision of food, medical care, hygiene and public health standards.
Serious health condition
Israel has long criticized this UN agency, and says that UNRWA employees participated in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. While the United Nations says that 9 UNRWA employees may have participated and been dismissed.
For its part, the United States said that its ally Israel must ensure that the new law does not impede the delivery of aid and the provision of vital services, including what UNRWA provides in Gaza, which has been suffering from a humanitarian crisis since the war between Israel and Hamas.
But Washington also raised questions about the contingency planning developed by the United Nations.
A US official said that State Department officials met this week with the transition team of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, and raised concerns about the possibility of aggravation of the crisis in Gaza once Israeli law is implemented.
UNRWA, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly, provides aid, health and educational services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and to Palestinians in neighboring Arab countries such as Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
Other agencies working in Gaza and the West Bank include the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations Development Programme. But prominent UN officials and the Security Council describe UNRWA as the backbone of current humanitarian aid operations in Gaza.
Israel says that 1,200 people were killed, and that about 250 “hostages” were taken in the attack on October 7, 2023. It launched its military campaign in Gaza after this attack.
On the other hand, Palestinian health officials say that the war on Gaza has resulted in the death of more than 46,000 people so far, in addition to turning large areas of the besieged Strip into ruins and displacing most of its 2.3 million people multiple times. Food experts also warn of famine. imminent in this Palestinian sector.
