The British newspaper "The Guardian" reported that Israel has presented a proposal to the United Nations to dismantle the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and relocate its staff to an alternative agency to provide extensive food shipments to Gaza. The newspaper cited UN sources stating that the proposal was submitted late last week by Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzl Halevi to UN officials in Israel, who forwarded it to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
UNRWA did not participate in the discussions regarding the transfer of the proposal, as the Israeli army has refused to engage with it since last week, citing unproven allegations regarding the affiliations of some agency staff with Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Israel insists it is willing to allow large quantities of aid into Gaza, but its decision not to cooperate with UNRWA severely impacts that capacity.
### Israeli Alternative to UNRWA
Under the conditions proposed by Israel, initially, between 300 to 400 UNRWA employees would be relocated either to another UN agency, such as the World Food Programme, or to a newly created organization specifically for distributing food aid in Gaza. More UNRWA staff could be transferred in later phases, and the agency's assets would also be relocated. Details remain unclear regarding who would manage any new agency under the proposal or who would provide security for its delivery.
UNRWA, which has supported Palestinians since 1950, has been excluded from talks regarding its future presence, despite being the largest humanitarian actor in the region. Tamara al-Rifai, UNRWA's Director of External Relations, stated, "UNRWA has not been systematically involved in the discussions related to the coordination of humanitarian aid in Gaza."
### Israeli Plan to Involve the UN in Failure
Some UN officials believe that Israel is attempting to implicate the international organization as unwilling to cooperate to avert the imminent famine warned against by humanitarian organizations. The International Court of Justice, which is reviewing genocide accusations against Israel, has instructed the Israeli government to take "all necessary and effective measures" to ensure large-scale aid delivery to Gaza "in full cooperation with the United Nations."
Others within the UN and other relief agencies and human rights groups see the Israeli proposal as the culmination of a long-standing Israeli campaign to dismantle UNRWA. Al-Rifai expressed concern that the small size of the proposed new entity for aid distribution would hinder its ability to effectively deliver assistance in Gaza at a time of urgent need, adding, "What I'm saying is not a criticism of the World Food Programme, but if they start distributing food in Gaza tomorrow, they will use UNRWA trucks and bring food to UNRWA warehouses and then distribute it in UNRWA shelters or around them, so they will need at least the same infrastructure we have, including human resources."
### US Behind the Scenes
"The Guardian" noted that the United States has supported efforts to merge UNRWA jobs with other agencies behind the scenes, but diplomats in New York stated that this effort has thus far met resistance from other donors and Guterres, who has provided full support for the agency to date. The paper pointed out that UNRWA derives its mandate from the UN General Assembly, which theoretically has the sole authority to decide the agency’s fate.
Some UN relief officials indicated that only UNRWA possesses the resources and trust of ordinary Palestinians to deliver food aid to Gaza, and attempting to reestablish a relief organization for political reasons in response to Israeli demands amid bombing and the onset of famine would have dire consequences. Former UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness stated it is shameful for UN agencies such as the World Food Programme and senior UN officials to engage in discussions about dismantling the agency, asserting, "The General Assembly gives UNRWA its mandate, and only the General Assembly can change it, not the Secretary-General and certainly not any member state."
