Banning UNRWA will lead to a vacuum and more suffering for Palestinians, the agency’s chief says

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The caput of nan U.N. agency caring for Palestinian refugees said Wednesday that newly passed Israeli laws efficaciously banning its activities successful Israel will time off a vacuum that will costs much lives and create further instability successful Gaza and nan West Bank.

Philippe Lazzarini, nan commissioner-general of nan United Nations Relief and Works Agency, aliases UNRWA, told The Associated Press successful an exclusive question and reply — nan first since nan laws were passed — that nan authorities is “ultimately against nan Palestinians themselves,” efficaciously denying them a functioning supplier of lifesaving services, acquisition and wellness care.

UNRWA has been nan main agency procuring and distributing assistance successful nan Gaza Strip, wherever almost nan full organization of astir 2.3 cardinal Palestinians relies connected nan agency for endurance amid Israel’s astir 13-month-old warfare pinch nan militant Hamas group.

Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering successful UNRWA-run schools. Other assistance groups opportunity nan agency’s strong, decades-old infrastructure crossed Gaza is irreplaceable. So far, Israel has put guardant nary scheme for getting food, medicine and different supplies to Gaza’s organization successful UNRWA’s absence.

Israel alleges that Hamas and different militants person infiltrated UNRWA, utilizing its accommodation and taking assistance — claims for which it has provided small evidence. The laws, passed by parliament this week, sever each ties pinch UNRWA and prohibition its operations successful Israel.

And since nan agency’s operations successful Gaza and nan West Bank must spell done Israeli authorities, nan laws frighten to adjacent its activities location arsenic well. The laws are expected to travel into effect successful 3 months.

If nan Israeli determination is implemented “this would beryllium a full disaster, it is for illustration throwing (out) nan babe pinch nan water,” Lazzarini told nan AP, speaking successful nan Saudi capital, Riyadh, wherever he is attending a convention to talk nan Mideast conflict.

“This would create a vacuum. It would besides provender much instability successful nan West Bank and Gaza,” he said. “Having UNRWA ending its activities wrong nan 3 months would besides mean much group will dice successful Gaza.”

He said nan agency is looking for “creative ways to support our cognition going.” He appealed for support from nan U.N. General Assembly and donors to support providing services and called connected Israel to rescind nan determination aliases widen nan three-month grace period. He said Israel has not officially communicated pinch nan agency pursuing nan take of nan laws.

For decades, UNRWA has operated networks of schools, aesculapian accommodation and different services astir Gaza and nan West Bank — arsenic good arsenic successful neighboring Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. In Gaza especially, it plays a awesome domiciled successful maintaining societal services and nan economy, arsenic nan territory’s largest azygous employer and nan root of acquisition and wellness attraction for overmuch of nan population.

The laws frighten to unopen down each those operations, impacting nan acquisition and use of hundreds of thousands of children good into nan future, he said.

“We person coming 1 successful 2 persons successful Gaza beneath nan property of 18, among them 650,000 girls and boys surviving successful nan rubble, profoundly traumatized astatine nan property of superior and secondary school,” he said. “Getting free of UNRWA is besides a measurement to show these children that you will person nary future. We are conscionable sacrificing your education. Education is nan only point which has never, ever been taken distant from nan Palestinians.”

UNRWA was established to thief nan estimated 700,000 Palestinians who fled aliases were driven retired of what is now Israel during the 1948 warfare surrounding Israel’s creation. It now offers support to nan refugees and their descendants, who number immoderate 6 cardinal astir nan region.

Lazzarini said nan Israeli laws are nan “culmination of years of onslaught against nan agency.” He said “the nonsubjective is to portion nan Palestinian from exile status.”

International rule gives Palestinian refugees and their descendants nan correct to return to their homes. Israel has refused to let their return, saying it would extremity nan Jewish mostly successful nan country. Israel has said nan refugees should beryllium taken successful by their big countries, and officials often reason that UNRWA’s services support Palestinians’ hopes for return alive.

In a missive to nan U.N, Lazzarini said nan Israeli laws and run against nan agency “will not terminate nan exile position of nan Palestinians, which exists independently of UNRWA’s services, but will severely harm their lives and future.”

Israel claims hundreds of Palestinian militants activity for UNRWA, without providing evidence, and that much than a twelve labor took portion successful Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 onslaught connected Israel that ignited nan latest war.

The U.N. has fired 9 staffers aft soul investigations recovered they whitethorn person participated successful nan attack. UNRWA has astir 30,000 unit astir nan region, including 13,000 successful Gaza, astir of them Palestinians. Israel besides says Hamas fighters run successful UNRWA schools and different accommodation successful Gaza — and has deed galore of them pinch airstrikes.

UNRWA denies knowingly aiding equipped groups and says it acts quickly to purge immoderate suspected militants from its ranks.

Lazzarini said Israel has not responded to inquiries from UNRWA for specifications astir different allegations, including that nan agency’s premises are utilized by militant groups.. With nan continued fighting, nan agency has been incapable to verify nan claims, he said and called for an independent investigation.

At slightest 237 UNRWA unit person been killed successful nan warfare successful Gaza, a toll among U.N. unit not seen successful immoderate different conflict. Over 200 UNRWA accommodation person been damaged aliases destroyed, sidesplitting much than 560 group sheltering there.

Lazzarini said connected nan sidelines of nan convention by nan Global Alliance for a Two-State Solution, a Saudi government-created inaugural attended by overseas ministers from Arab, Muslim, African and European countries.

“If we want to beryllium successful successful immoderate early governmental transition, we request an agency for illustration UNRWA taking attraction of acquisition and nan superior wellness of nan Palestinian refugees” until location is simply a viable functioning authorities aliases management to do so, he said.

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El Deeb reported from Beirut.