UNRWA faces an uncertain path following Israel’s ban

In the center of Jerusalem’s “Ammunition Hill” stands a blue gate marked with the sign “UNRWA West Bank Field Office” in bold. The site was pivotal in 1967, when Israel won a decisive battle against the Jordanian army, eventually securing control of Jerusalem’s Old City and the West Bank.

Following this victory, Israel signed an agreement with UNRWA that allowed the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to continue its activities in the occupied territories, with Israel’s commitment to support its work. However, as of Monday evening, the validity of this agreement is in jeopardy pending the adoption of a new law adopted by the Knesset.

On the first day after summer recess, Israel’s parliament overwhelmingly approved two potentially transformative laws. These laws not only prohibit UNRWA from operating on Israeli soil, but also prohibit Israeli officials from cooperating with the agency. The measures will take effect in three months.

Even UNRWA does not know what will happen next

Jonathan Fowler gestures toward a stark, unadorned meeting room. Behind him, the UNRWA logo hangs on the wall, with Fowler, a bald, bearded British citizen, acting as press secretary. A day after the political shock in the Knesset, the corridors of the building are quiet. There seem to be more journalists than employees on the site. UNRWA workers from the West Bank have not set foot here for more than a year; Israel denies them entry from October 7, 2023.

It’s a tiring day for Fowler. His schedule is full, leaving him no rest as he explains, discusses, reassures – and occasionally checks his phone. Above all these exchanges the question arises: what now? Even he cannot give a definite answer. “We could lose this building,” Fowler says. But this, he emphasizes, does not matter. What really matters are the people who depend on the agency – the Palestinian refugees. Now they are especially urgently needed in Gaza.

UNRWA officially supports 5.9 million Palestinian refugees in the Israeli-occupied territories and in neighboring Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Under the organization’s mandate, refugee status is hereditary, meaning that the children and grandchildren of the 700,000 Palestinians who have been displaced since Israel’s founding in 1948 are eligible for UN assistance.

UNRWA’s largest presence is in Gaza

Much remains uncertain, Fowler explains, because the details of the law’s implementation are still unclear. However, if Israeli officials are barred from contacting UNRWA, the humanitarian consequences in Gaza could be profound. For example, the organization would lose the ability to coordinate aid distribution with the Israeli military or receive supplies at the port of Ashdod, Fowler said, noting that visa denials to UNRWA staff or customs blockades could also impede aid flows.

In the Gaza Strip, UNRWA distributes essential goods together with other UN agencies, such as the World Health Organization and the World Food Programme, as well as private organizations. But as Fowler points out, UNRWA is the main organization involved in providing humanitarian aid to people. “No other part of the UN system has a network like we have in Gaza,” he notes.

“We have about 5,000 employees who can still work,” he says. In contrast, he believes other UN agencies maintain only about 250 staff in Gaza, although these numbers cannot be independently verified. Before the war, UNRWA employed about 12,000 people in the coastal region.

The deepening of the crisis in the West Bank

UNRWA also operates schools, health clinics and public infrastructure in 19 refugee camps in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Over the decades, these camps have turned from tent cities into permanent quarters with sturdy residential structures.

If the Knesset law is strictly enforced, it could have far-reaching consequences for public services in the West Bank, which is already experiencing economic instability. UNRWA staff may face limited access to checkpoints and hospitals may be cut off from essential medical supplies.

Israel has announced plans to find a replacement for UNRWA within three months. In the event of the dissolution of UNRWA, Israel, as the occupying power, will bear the sole responsibility under international law to provide for the needs of the civilian population

Alternatives for UNRWA have not yet been found

On Monday, a key backer of the UNRWA legislation said other organizations would take over the agency’s functions during the three-month transition and beyond. Israel’s Agency for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) is said to be drawing up the plans, although details remain classified.

Eitan Dangote, former head of COGAT from 2009 to 2013, expressed support for the law in an interview with reporters on Monday, citing alleged links between UNRWA staff and militant activities. According to Dangote, already during his tenure there were reports of young people undergoing military training at UNRWA summer camps.

Dangote admits that there is no clear plan in case UNRWA ceases operations in Gaza. “Israel behind schedule on new Gaza administration”. He argues that a new order in Gaza without UNRWA or Hamas will only be viable if the Palestinian Authority (PA) is involved. The PA is to take responsibility for education and health, including in the West Bank, while other UN agencies manage aid.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, however, opposes PA intervention, fearing it could pave the way for a Palestinian state, a scenario it is keen to avoid. With the three-month deadline looming, the absence of a viable alternative to UNRWA threatens to worsen the suffering in Gaza and risk plunging the West Bank into further disarray.

Latest articles

Global reporting. Journalism of Swiss quality.

In today’s increasingly polarized media market, Switzerland’s NZZ offers a critical and fact-based outside perspective. We are not in the breaking news business. We offer thoughtful, well-researched stories and analysis that go beyond the headlines to explain relevant events in the US, Europe and around the world. To produce this work, NZZ supports an industry-leading network of expert reporters around the world who work closely with our main newsroom in Zurich.

Subscribe to our free mailing or follow us Twitter, Facebook or WhatsApp.