UNRWA, A Lifeline For Palestinians Amid Decades Of Conflict

AFP/APP

Geneva: The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, whose operations in Israel were banned by the Israeli parliament on Monday, is seen by some as an “irreplaceable” humanitarian lifeline in Gaza, but as an accomplice of Hamas by others.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has for more than seven decades provided essential aid and assistance to Palestinian refugees.

The agency has also long been a lightening rod for harsh Israeli criticism, which has ramped up dramatically since the start of the war in Gaza.

UNRWA, which coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza, has seen more than 220 of its staff killed in the war there even as it has faced dramatic funding cuts and calls for its dismantlement amid Israeli accusations that some of its workers took part in the October 7 attack.

Created in wake of war

UNRWA was established in December 1949 by the UN General Assembly in the wake of the first Arab-Israeli conflict following Israel’s creation in May 1948.

The agency, which began its operations on May 1, 1950, was tasked with assisting some 750,000 Palestinians who had been expelled during the war.

It was supposed to be a short-term fix, but in the absence of a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem, the General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA’s mandate, most recently extending it until June 30, 2026.

Millions of refugees

The number of Palestinian refugees under its charge has meanwhile ballooned to nearly six million across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

Palestinian refugees are defined as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict”.

Their descendents also have refugee status.

Operations

UNRWA is unique among UN organisations in its direct service delivery model, and is the main provider of basic public services, including education, healthcare, and social services for registered Palestinian refugees.

It employs more than 30,000 people, mainly Palestinian refugees and a small number of international staff.

The organisation counts 58 official refugee camps and runs more than 700 schools for over 540,000 students.

It also runs 141 primary healthcare facilities, with nearly seven million patient visits each year, and provides emergency food and cash assistance to some 1.8 million people.