3 QUESTIONS - Defunding UNRWA is collective punishment against Gaza

By Burak Elmali

- The author is a researcher at TRT World Research Center.

ISTANBUL (AA) - In three questions, Burak Elmali evaluated Israel's accusations against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), why these accusations are being made now and whether the agency can be replaced by any other organization.

- What is the background of the accusations against the UNRWA?

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is facing a funding crisis as Western countries decided to cut their aid immediately and without due process based solely on Israeli allegations. Among these unsubstantiated allegations are accusations that UNRWA personnel took part in the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 and claims that the agency's facilities are being used for purposes such as weapon storage. Many big donors like the United States, Britain, Germany, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland, and Italy cut their aid, nearly [1] amounting to more than half of the total financial pool.

Israel has a long history of antagonism towards this UN agency and has continuously denigrated it via prolonged negative campaigns and lobbying. Support for UNRWA came under threat many times when former US President Donald Trump [2] threatened in 2018 to cut US support to UNRWA if no agreement occurred between Israel and Palestine.

Israel perceives UNRWA as an obstacle to the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict due to the organization’s approach to defining refugee status. While UNRWA includes not only those displaced in 1948 but also their descendants, Israel adopts a reductionist view in defining refugees, aiming to push the issue into the background of history.

- Why did Israel take action against UNRWA now?

Since Oct. 7, the ongoing Israeli attacks have reached a critical humanitarian crisis phase, as issues like famine, lack of clean water, and a shortage of medical supplies have become life-threatening for approximately 2.2 million people in Gaza. Israel's allegations against the UNRWA appear to be aimed at pressuring the civilian population and causing ethnic cleansing. Noga Arbell, a former Israeli official, blatantly [3] declared during a discussion in the Israeli parliament on Jan. 4, 2024 that "it will be impossible to win the war if we do not destroy UNRWA, and this destruction must begin immediately."

The new smear campaign against the UNRWA began shortly afterward, coming the same day as the [4] decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), recognizing the risk of genocide in Gaza. This move allowed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strike two birds with one stone. On the one hand, it allows him to regain the narrative. Prominent stories about Israel's claims against UNRWA employees featured prominently on the key US and Western mainstream media outlets, whereas the meager stories focusing on the ICJ ruling against Israel were buried in the inner pages. On the other hand, the Israeli government’s goal of dismantling the UNRWA is paramount to its ongoing strategy aiming to forcibly displace and deport Palestinians from Gaza.

Unlike the complex process that witnessed Israel having its day in court, stopping UNRWA’s funding did not require an 84-page plea, neither deliberations nor a complex technical decision. Defunding the UNRWA has come while this agency has already announced layoffs of the accused contractors (12 out of its 30,000-strong workforce) and launched an investigation. Incidentally, the defamation campaign against the UNRWA is underway victimizing once more an organization that is already a victim of this war: at least 152 UNRWA staffers have been killed by Israel in Gaza until now.

Israel has a track record of weaponizing the judiciary against Palestinian aid workers, often employing torture, intimidation, and harsh imprisonment conditions. For instance, aid worker Mohammed El-Halabi was accused of transferring $50 million to Hamas in 2016 and then immediately imprisoned. Both imprisonment and the judiciary process faced [5] criticism of solitary confinement, torture, and ill-treatment to provide a confession.

- How will this be resolved?

UNRWA serves as an organization that [6] facilitates the collection and proper utilization of annual donations from various countries and aid organizations. Therefore, in addition to the financial cutback issue, there is a high likelihood of encountering problems with the interruption of other aid and services reaching Gaza. The UNRWA crisis exemplifies a severe blow to the credibility and effectiveness of international law amid Israel's onslaught on Gaza. Although UNRWA's aid and service activities could potentially be compensated by other organizations under the UN umbrella, or by local aid organizations, the absence of support from a coordination mechanism for humanitarian aid at a time when the crisis is at its deepest is not easily replaceable.

The current conjuncture is also an opportunity for leading countries in the global south, including Russia, China, Türkiye, Indonesia, Malaysia, Arab countries, South Africa, Brazil, and others to fund the UNRWA and show the Western countries that the time of using UN organizations to twist arms and use blackmail in support of genocide is over.

1. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/28/which-countries-have-cut-funding-to-unrwa-and-why
2.https://thehill.com/opinion/international/404931-the-straw-that-may-break-the-us-back-as-middle-east-peacemakers/
3.https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1751480836682399772?s=20
4.https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/genocide-case-against-israel-what-to-know-about-icj-ruling-on-provisional-measures/3119138
5.https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/09/israel-un-experts-seek-justice-imprisoned-palestinian-aid-worker-mohammed-el
6.https://www.aljazeera.com/program/inside-story/2024/1/29/how-will-unrwa-function-as-more-donor-countries-cut-funding

*Opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Anadolu.