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Israel: UNRWA Can Be Replaced by Other UN Agencies for Humanitarian Assistance in Gaza
(The Times-UK) Joshua Thurston - The future of the UN agency that provides services to Palestinian refugees across the Middle East is in doubt after Israel passed two laws cutting ties with it. Israel claims that UNRWA has become a cover for terrorist activity by Hamas, the militant group responsible for the Oct. 7 attacks. Israel provided video evidence that UNRWA food rations were found in a bunker in Khan Yunis used by the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Israel has long maintained that some of the food and healthcare distributed by UNRWA in Gaza is taken by Hamas. Israel also believes that UNRWA's focus on Palestinians gives them a special status that is inherently hostile to Israel, a UN member. Israel says that while refugees from other conflicts assimilate into their host countries, with support from UN agencies like the High Commissioner for Refugees, the presence of UNRWA in countries such as Lebanon encourages Palestinians to believe that they should be allowed to return to Israel and undo the establishment of Israel, which took place in 1948. UNRWA's presence also enables host governments to deny Palestinians full rights. In Lebanon, for example, they are barred from many jobs and are unlikely to ever gain citizenship. "If the issue is providing humanitarian assistance, there are other UN agencies for this very purpose, such as the World Food Program, World Health Organization, UNICEF and others," said George Deek, an Israeli ambassador who is himself Arab.