The Agency of the UN for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), destabilized by a controversy linked to October 7 attackhas been an essential actor for millions of Palestinians since its creation in 1949.
Long criticized for Israelthe agency funded almost exclusively by voluntary contributions of States must now investigate the role of some of its employees in the stroke perpetrated by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Israeli soil.
Essential actor
UNRWA was created at the end of December 1949 by the general Assembly of the UN after the first Arab-Israeli conflict which broke out the day after Israel’s creation in May 1948. The agency’s mandate is to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to Palestinian refugees registered in the Agency’s area of operations, “waiting for a solution just and lasting to their situation”.
More of 700,000 Palestinians They were expelled or fled their lands between April and August 1948, when Israel was created, according to the UN. These people, as well as their decendents, have refugee status. UNRWA thus becomes the sole guarantor by default of its international status. It operates in the Palestinian territories but also in the Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
Some 5.9 million of Palestinians are registered with UNRWA and can benefit from services including education, medical attention, social services, camp infrastructure, microfinance and emergency helpeven in times of armed conflict.
In total there are some sixty refugee camps managed by the UN agency, 19 of them in West BankPalestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967. More than 540,000 children They study in UNRWA schools.
UNRWA in Gaza
In the Gaza Strip, where Hamas took power in 2007, the humanitarian situation was already criticism before the start of the war between Israel and the Islamist movement.
According to UN data from last August, the 63% of residents suffered food insecurity and they depended on international aid. More than 80% lived below Poverty line.
The small territory, wedged between Israel, the Mediterranean Sea and Egypt, has eight fields and around 1.7 million refugees, the overwhelming majority of the population, according to the UN. It should be remembered that the total population of Gaza is approximately 2.4 million of people.
Of the 30,000 people employed by the agency, 13,000 work in the Gaza Stripspread over more than 300 installations in a territory of 365 square kilometers, according to the website of the organization.
The crisis of 2018
In 2018, the United States of donald trumpthe largest contributor to UNRWA, put End of your financial aid annual 300 million dollars (270 million euros).
Israel, which had welcomed satisfaction the American decision, accuses the organization of “perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” by maintaining the idea – which he opposes – that many Palestinians are refugees with the right to return to your land. The Palestinians, for their part, point out that the United States pays more than three thousand millions dollars annually in military aid to Israel.
In May 2019, the adviser of US President Donald Trump for the Middle East called for the end of UNRWA, accusing it of having “failed in its mission.” The Agency responded that it could not be held responsible for the stagnation in the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.
Washington resumed his payments starting in 2021, after the election of the president Joe Biden.
October 7 attack
On Friday, UNRWA parted ways with several employees (twelve according to the United States) accused of being involved in Hamas attack on October 7 on Israeli soil. The alleged facts were not specified and an investigation was opened investigation.
Israel said on Saturday it no longer wanted the UN agency to play any role in Gaza after the war. Washington “temporarily” suspended all additional funding to the UN agency, followed on Saturday by several other donor countries.
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In 2022, United Nations regular budget funds and contributions from other United Nations entities amounted to 44.6 million of dollars.
The five main donors are, in order, USA, Germanythe European Union, Sweden and Norway. Also included are Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Switzerland.