Can the US and other UNRWA Donors 'Walk Back' from the Brink? NY Times / Washington Post / Tom McDermott
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| Phillip Lazarinni and Antony Blinken at UNRWA Jordan |
Click here for The 8 Days That Roiled the U.N.’s Top Agency in Gaza
Click here for Israeli intelligence prompted U.S. to quickly cut Gaza aid funding
Click here for IDF was caught off guard by US knowledge of UNRWA allegations
As these articles make clear, a series of bureaucratic and political blunders has led to a disastrous situation for aid to Gaza.
The story began in a routine meeting on January 18th between Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA's chief, and the head of UN Affairs at the Israeli Foreign Ministry. In the meeting, Lazzarini was presented with a summary prepared by Israeli intelligence alleging that 12 UNRWA employees in Gaza were directly involved in the October 7th attacks on Israel.
It is important to note that Israeli intelligence has been under political fire over its failure to predict and prevent the attacks, despite close monitoring of Gaza. Yet the new claims were apparently based on the same intelligence, plus a released hostage's report he was held in a school counselor's apartment.
Also notable is that the allegations concerned far fewer than 1% of UNRWA's 13,000 Gaza staff (30,000 total including the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon).
Lazzarini brought the documents to New York for discussion with the UN Secretary-General and to Washington for discussion with the State Department. UNRWA immediately fired 9 of the 12 accused. UNRWA separately asked for a full review of the allegations.
Considerable confusion followed in Washington and Jerusalem. The Israelis were surprised the US National Security Council had discussed Lazzarini’s report before the claims were known by many in the Israeli government and military. Unlike some politicians, the IDF seemed unnerved that UNRWA’s collapse would leave Israel providing aid, an occupying force’s responsibility avoided since 1949 thanks to UNRWA.
On January 26th, the UN announced the claims and actions taken, the same day the International Court of Justice called on Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza. The next day was Holocaust Remembrance Day, both dates with huge significance in the US, Europe and Israel. The US announced suspending UNRWA support January 26th, with 16 countries suspending contributions totaling over half UNRWA’s budget.
In Israel, Netanyahu and coalition members welcomed the suspensions and continued calling for replacing UNRWA with other aid groups. US Jewish Congress members met with Israelis to discuss alternatives, absurdly suggesting UNHCR and UNICEF replace an agency employing 30,000 in various roles. The UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee quickly responded that UNRWA plays an irreplaceable role, and failure risks disaster in Gaza and the West Bank.
An interesting conundrum faces the Biden administration in an election year already facing criticism for supporting Israel and previously reversing UNRWA cuts. Similarly, if UNRWA collapses by February’s end with no replacement, the Israeli military may face fully supporting Gaza’s population in occupation.
Can the US and 15 other donors now step back from the brink?
I urge everyone to consider donating to UNWRA here: https://www.unrwa.org
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ellen
Where is the financial support to UNRWA from the Gulf states and other Arab countries? Why are they not supporting their Palestinian brothers and sisters?
ReplyDeleteIt is the occupier's responsibility to look after the occupied, that is enshrined in law. Israel has successfully offloaded that responsibility onto the international community represented by UNRWA. But then Israel is special and only follows laws that it considers to be in its favor. How many binding UN Security Council resolutions, supported by the US, have they ignored with no consequences? Perhaps this war may make the world, including the US, understand the reality. If it does, the 27,000 Palestinians have not died in vain.
ReplyDeleteThere is a big dose of irony in this...according to those in the know, UNRWA was created especially so that Palestinian refugees would NOT come under UNHCR jurisdiction, which means, inter alia, that they would have then have the right to repatriation to their home country, a fundamental policy of UNHCR. Palestinians are therefore the only refugees for whom a special UN Agency was created, something that apparently the US and its allies pushed for.
ReplyDelete