ISRAEL VS UNRWA
Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, on Monday praised the expected moves by Trump, accusing the Human Rights Council of “aggressively promoting extreme anti-Semitism”.
“At the same time, UNRWA has long lost its status as an independent humanitarian organisation, and has turned into a terrorist authority controlled by Hamas under the guise of a humanitarian agency,” he said.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said last week that the agency has been the target of a “fierce disinformation campaign” to “portray the agency as a terrorist organisation”.
The US was UNRWA’s biggest donor – providing US$300 million to US$400 million a year – but Biden paused funding in January 2024 after Israel accused about a dozen UNRWA staff of taking part in the deadly Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Palestinian militants Hamas that triggered the war in Gaza.
The US Congress then formally suspended contributions to UNRWA until at least March 2025. UNRWA provides aid, health and education services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
The UN has said that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the Oct 7, 2023, attack and were fired. A Hamas commander in Lebanon – killed in September by Israel – was also found to have had a UNRWA job. The UN has vowed to investigate all accusations made and repeatedly asked Israel for evidence, which it says has not been provided.
An Israeli ban went into effect on Jan 30 that prohibits UNRWA from operating on its territory or communicating with Israeli authorities. UNRWA has said operations in Gaza and West Bank will also suffer.
