The UN agency UNRWA became embroiled in the conflict around Gaza

UNRWA perpetuates the refugee issue, obstructs peace and serves as the civilian arm of Hamas in Gaza. This is what Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said this Saturday morning, who added more on social network X later in the afternoon, calling on other countries to suspend their funding.

A strong reaction, therefore, from the head of Israeli diplomacy, the day after his country’s revelations. It demands that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East pay for its actions. And Mr. Katz goes too far: Many of his employees are affiliated with Hamas, with murderous ideologies he claims contribute to terrorist activities.

While the UN agency for Palestinian refugees announced on Friday that it intends to launch an investigation and immediately terminate the contracts of the guilty personnel, Israel intends to promote, says Israel’s diplomatic chief, a policy guaranteeing that UNRWA will not ensure the matter. Be part of another day in the Palestinian enclave. In other words, it wants to end the agency’s activities in Gaza.

However, at this stage, it must be stressed, these are Israeli allegations, as our correspondent in Jerusalem makes clear, Michael PaulRegarding the possible involvement of twelve UN office staff in the massacre perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, at the root of the current war in Gaza.

“Shock” suspension for Unrwa

Philip Lazzarini, head of Unrva, judged “ Shocking to see the suspension of funding in response to allegations against a small group of employees “, taking into account the steps already taken and the role of the Agency” 2 million people depend on it for their simple existence “

Contacted by Agence France-Presse, Johan Sophie, an international lawyer and former director of the UNRWA legal office in Gaza, said, “ A policy of zero tolerance for incitement to violence and hatred » From the agency. ” Allowing UNRWA, which is barely keeping the entire population of Gaza alive, for the alleged responsibility of a few staff, is tantamount to collectively punishing the Gazan population, who live in catastrophic humanitarian conditions. », he believes.

The announcement came shortly after the UN’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, called on Israel to stop any possible act of “genocide” in Gaza. a” Temporality that necessarily questions », points out Yohann Soufi.

This Saturday evening, there was important assistance from the UN agency “ The following countries’ decisions to reduce funding are due to expire », Philip Lazzarini wrote, adding: “ The Palestinians in Gaza did not need this additional collective punishment. »

The agency was caught in the crossfire

It must be said that shortly after the American position was taken, Washington was very quick this Saturday to announce the suspension of its funding to UNRWA, Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada, and then to suspend their own financing.

But the European Union, like another major donor to the UN agency, Switzerland, prefers to wait. On Friday, European diplomacy chief Josep Borrell signaled that he also wants ” Full transparency » From the agency before taking a decision.

Ditto within the Union for Ireland, which ” Decision in principle » Not suspending its assistance, as hailed by Mary Lawler, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, who adds on X: “ It is wrong for other governments to make innocent citizens suffer more. »

Some other member states, however, did not wait to suspend their funding, such as Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and finally Germany. ” We are committed to providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population, protecting Israel’s security », mentioned the Italian Foreign Minister on the social network

Faced with these initiatives, Palestinian leaders are responding; Palestinian Authority Minister of Civil Affairs Reaction: Unrwa, says Hussein al-Sheikh, needs ” maximum support “and” It is not that we cut off support and assistance “Hamas, for its part, accuses Israel of ” Cut funding » and deprive Gaza of international aid.

Because the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, is the main provider of humanitarian aid to more than 2 million civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip, which has been under fire for nearly 120 days.

But Hamas also attacks the Unrwa leadership, between two fires. In a press release, he condemned the dismissal of the agency’s employees ” Based on Zionist information ” And to be angry that Anarva has described ” Resistance forces as terrorist organizations ” ” It is not the role of UNRWA to take a political position “, considers the Palestinian group, which believes that Unrava” Israel is being blackmailed by countries that support terrorism “

A highly political battle for Israel

Relations between Israel and UNRWA deteriorated this week, after the UN accused Israel of firing on two Israeli tanks at one of its shelters in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, which houses thousands of displaced people.

But for several years now, the State of Israel has sought to shut down UNRWA or limit its action. Accusing the agency of fueling radicalization among the Palestinian population, he threatened to ban its operations in Jerusalem and asked its partners to stop funding it.

In 2018, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu received the support of American President Donald Trump: the United States stopped all funding to the agency, ” Anti-Israel bias ” But it failed to convince the majority of UN member states, because in 2022, UNRWA’s mandate was renewed by the General Assembly for another three years.

This Israeli battle is highly political. Unrwa supports more than five million Palestinians in Gaza, Jerusalem or the West Bank, but also in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

And for Israel, the very existence of this special agency maintains displaced Palestinians and their descendants in this status of refugees, preventing their integration into the society in which they live, in its eyes. Stripping them of this refugee status would negate one of the most sensitive issues in the negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, their demand for the right to return to their homeland.

Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid is with the government anyway. He decided on this day, X, that the time had come” Create an alternative that will not educate generations of Palestinians in hate “