The UN aid agency for Palestine, UNRWA, is on the verge of collapse because its employees participated in the Hamas attack on Israel. Several countries have stopped funding the organization, which has long been criticized and stands out for its dubious nature.
New York/Amman/Gaza. Following the serious allegations that recently emerged against employees of the UN Palestine Relief Agency (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip, UN chief António Guterres announced the consequences on Sunday: “Any employee involved in acts of terrorism will be held accountable, including criminally. “The internal investigations office is active.
Israel presented evidence that twelve workers from UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) participated in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. No details were provided, but it was said that one of the 12 was dead and two others had not yet been identified. The rest were released. Guterres spoke of the “alleged despicable actions” of which they were accused.
The organization, founded in 1949 and based in Amman (Jordan) and Gaza, is under enormous pressure because at least nine countries have now frozen their payments, including major financiers such as the US, Germany and Japan. Austria still does not want go so far. However, there is currently no payment due, the Foreign Ministry told “Presse am Sonntag”. Austria transfers 400 thousand euros annually to UNRWA and three million euros to a health project. People now demand “clarification, clarification, clarification”.
Swiss boss talks about “collective punishment”
Guterres emphasized that funding is now not enough to support the two million people in Gaza in February. He asked states that suspended their contributions to be tolerant. The tens of thousands of employees should not be punished. The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, a Swiss national, said he was shocked by the allegations, but also by the fact that UNRWA donors had taken the decision to suspend aid “based on the alleged behavior of some people”. But the Palestinians “do not need additional collective punishment”.
Hamas spoke of a smear campaign by Israel against aid workers. “The Nazi entity” wants to “cut off all life lines of our people”. Israel wants to expel UNRWA from Gaza after the end of the war. Foreign Minister Israel Katz called for Lazzarini to resign, while government spokesman Eylon Levy said UNRWA was “a front for Hamas.”
Questionable increase in formal refugees
The organization has long been criticized. Its approximately 30,000 employees, most from the Arab-Islamic region, are said to sympathize with the Palestinians, that teaching materials for children in UNRWA schools contain anti-Israel content, and that weapons have been found in UNRWA facilities. The refugee status of Palestinians is infinitely inherited, even if people are well integrated into states. The humanitarian organization wants them to remain formally refugees for generations to come. The approximately 700,000 Palestinians displaced at the end of the 1940s have now formally grown to more than five million.
It is also widely criticized that the UN aid agency, UNHCR, which is in principle responsible for refugees worldwide (except Palestinians), has far fewer staff, most recently around 19,000, rather than 30,000 mentioned above in UNRWA. UNHCR has recently cared for more than 21 million people (2021/22 data), with an estimated 95 million displaced people, asylum seekers and internally displaced people worldwide (excluding Palestinians). (ag./wg)