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Brinkmanship over Israel's Ban on UNRWA

(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) David Makovsky - Jan. 30 marks the implementation deadline for two Israeli laws passed on Oct. 28 that prohibit any government contact with the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Many in Israel believe that UNRWA does not seek to solve refugee cases but instead has an institutional interest in perpetuating them. The agency's preference for returning millions of refugees to Israel rather than permanently resettling them could undermine Israel's viability and threaten the prospects for coexistence. After Oct. 7, at least nine UNRWA employees were revealed to be involved in the atrocities committed that day. Additionally, Israel found Hamas members employed as principals and teachers in UNRWA schools, Hamas infrastructure and weapons in the basements of these schools, and Hamas data centers in tunnels underneath the agency's headquarters in Gaza. Israeli officials have privately said that if the UN does not work out an alternative to UNRWA in the West Bank, then the agency's services there should automatically come under the PA's purview. They also believe that food distribution can be managed by the UN World Food Program, which already handles a sizable portion of Gaza food aid. Yet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres instructed his agencies not to engage in any contingency planning related to Israel's deadline, arguing that such action would imply acceptance of such policies. UNRWA has a smaller role in eastern Jerusalem than in the West Bank and Gaza. The Jerusalem Municipality has indicated that it will work out educational alternatives for the few UNRWA schools located in the eastern part of the city. In the West Bank, UNRWA runs 19 refugee camps, employs 3,700 workers, provides social security and other such payments to 150,000 residents, and operates one hospital, 43 clinics, and 96 schools (serving 47,000 children). In Gaza, before the war, UNRWA was the main provider of schooling and health services, serving over a million residents in its eight refugee camps. UN officials say the ban on contact with Israel will prevent the agency from functioning. Areas affected include monthly visa renewals for UNRWA international staff, vehicle registration, customs agreements to facilitate the import of food and medicine, and Israeli bank transactions related to salary payments and supply chains. Israel and the Trump administration seem more focused on the longer-term goal of reshaping the administration of Palestinian territory and aid in the wake of Oct. 7. In their view, lasting peace is unattainable as long as the Palestinian refugee issue continues to derail proposed peace deals, so efforts to rebuild Gaza must move beyond persistent refugee camps and a "right of return" model rooted in hostility toward Israel's existence. The writer is a fellow at the Washington Institute and director of the Project on Arab-Israel Relations.
2025-02-02 00:00:00
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