US said leading efforts to replace UNRWA, as ban that would paralyze operations looms
Laws barring Israeli cooperation with UN’s Palestinian relief agency set to come into effect in two weeks, with no clear alternative in place
The US is leading talks at the United Nations to find a replacement for the global body’s Palestinian refugee aid agency, as a deadline fast approaches when Israeli laws banning cooperation with the body come into effect, the Haaretz newspaper reported Thursday.
Legislation passed by the Knesset on October 28 bars the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from operating in Israeli territory and prevents Israeli authorities from holding any contact with the agency. The laws were to go into effect at the conclusion of a 90-day grace period from their passage, which expires in two weeks.
The law is expected to effectively cripple the agency’s ability to operate, as its operations are dependent on contact with Israeli authorities.
With no replacement set up, Israel is under pressure to find an alternative for institutes and services operated by UNRWA that are expected to collapse, the report said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is refusing to even speak directly with Israel about a replacement, several unnamed sources familiar with the situation told Haaretz (Hebrew link).
Senior UNRWA officials said they were open to talk with Israel but no solution has been presented so far.
An emerging ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is not likely to make a significant impact on the situation, with the legislation coming after long years of adversarial relations between UNRWA and Jerusalem.
The Foreign Ministry is in talks with senior United Nations officials, as well as the US, on the possibility of transferring UNRWA responsibilities to other UN agencies, the report said, adding that the Israel Defense Forces, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), and the Shin Bet are all interested in working with the UN on a solution. Discussions are looking at temporary measures to enable continued humanitarian operations in Gaza during a transitional period.
Israel notes that currently only 13 percent of aid entering Gaza is provided by UNRWA, but international groups say the agency remains a key element in providing aid to residents.
A security source told Haaretz, “If the other bodies see that Israel is serious [in its ban], they will slowly step in and replace UNRWA.” That process is already happening, the source argued.
“Until the war, UNRWA had a monopoly on municipal services in Gaza,” the official said. “Now other organizations will take on more responsibility for them, because UNRWA is disintegrating.”
Fuel deliveries to bakeries and hospitals have already been taken over by the United Nations Office for Project Services, the report said.
While Israel’s defense establishment believes such agencies could provide a solution, a European diplomat told Haaretz that even Jerusalem realizes there are limitations to this. Humanitarian aid operations and health services could be taken over by other UN bodies but Israel also understands that UNRWA’s provision of shelter for war-displaced Gazans would be more of a challenge.
One option being discussed is to replace UNRWA’s international directors but leave in place Palestinian employees on the ground, who would be transferred to another UN agency, such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the report said. A senior security source told Haaretz that Israel’s security officials don’t oppose the idea in principle since UN agencies share employee lists.
However, there are obstacles. Israel accuses many of those employees of being tied to Gaza terror groups. Also, the UN asserts that UNRWA’s mandate cannot be moved to another agency.
Israel has long had an adversarial relationship with UNRWA, accusing it of promoting hatred of Israel through its education system and perpetuating Palestinian victimhood, as it allows Palestinians to maintain refugee status for generations both in and outside the Palestinian territories — a policy not afforded to any other refugees by global agencies. But Jerusalem’s campaign against UNRWA intensified significantly following Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, which killed 1,200 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians.
Over a dozen UNRWA staffers were found to have participated in the attack, and there has been a series of revelations since then regarding the extent to which Hamas has managed to infiltrate the agency.
While Israel has sought to box out the agency from the humanitarian effort over the past year, UNRWA remains central to operations, providing shelters to repeatedly displaced Palestinians, storing and distributing aid to civilians and providing logistical support to the various international organizations operating in Gaza.
UNRWA Director in the West Bank Ronald Friedrich told Haaretz, “In Gaza and the West Bank, we provide education to more than half a million children, and we integrate tolerance education into our programs. If this collapses, the risk of radicalization will increase.”
The agency also operates in East Jerusalem, where it has six schools with a total of 750 students, as well as two clinics.
Two rights groups on Thursday filed petitions to the High Court of Justice against the UNRWA laws, Ynet reported.
The Adalah Center and the Gisha Center filed a petition on behalf of 10 Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem. In it, they argue the laws harm basic human rights and the state’s obligations under international law.
Petitioners asked that the court order a delay in implementing the laws.
One Palestinian said in the petition that ending operations means “I won’t be able to buy drugs for a chronic disease that would ensure my survival.”
Another said that without the supplementary income he receives from UNRWA, he will be forced to choose between buying medicine and food, the report said.
