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Between October 2023 and February 2024, more children were killed in the war in Gaza than in conflicts around the world during the previous four years. In addition, a UN report expects a famine to break out in Gaza by May. The International Court of Justice has therefore ordered Israel to “take immediate and effective measures to enable the delivery of urgently needed basic supplies and humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.” But instead of an increase, we see a shocking one decrease – according to the United Nations, as much as 30% – of aid reaching Gaza.
An indispensable organization
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the largest Palestinian aid agency, plays a crucial role in providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinians. UNRWA was founded in 1949 to assist Palestinians and Jews forcibly displaced by the war and violence that followed the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. In 1952, Israel took responsibility for providing aid to approximately 17,000 Jews who had been forcibly displaced. More than 700,000 displaced Palestinians and their descendants remained under UNRWA’s mandate.
Currently, approximately 5.9 million people are eligible for the services of UNRWA, which operates in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. The organization plays an important role in housing and education for Palestinian refugees and has more than 30,000 employees. What was originally intended as a temporary humanitarian program has grown into an immense service provider that would be politically and logistically very complex – if not impossible – to replace, especially in the middle of a conflict with urgent humanitarian needs. Aid from other aid organizations also passes entirely through UNRWA: “We cannot do our work without UNRWA,” says Save the Children director Pim Kraan in the NOS news. “The only organization that can provide large-scale aid is UNRWA,” https://twitter.com/KatiPiri/status/1765302696616030580 also Member of Parliament Kati Piri.
UNRWA under fire
But UNRWA is in dire financial straits. The decline in humanitarian aid reaching Gaza is partly due to allegations against 12 UNRWA staff. Israel claims that these operatives have ties to Hamas and were involved in the October 7 attack. No substantial evidence has been provided to support the allegations, as highlighted by the EU’s top humanitarian official on March 14. In fact, UNRWA findings suggest that the Israeli military forced 21 UNRWA employees to make false confessions about alleged ties to Hamas. They were allegedly subjected to torture techniques, such as severe physical abuse, waterboarding and threats against family members. Similar torture was previously reported by CNN and Al Jazeera. UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma called it “part of efforts to dismantle UNRWA.”
Despite this, 18 countries, including the Netherlands, made the reckless decision to suspend funding to UNRWA, causing UNRWA to lose almost half of its budget, approximately $450 million. The United States, UNRWA’s largest donor, has even reached an agreement to ban funding to UNRWA until March 2025. In return, Spain has provided extra money, because ceasing financial support would “put hundreds of thousands of lives at risk”.
Israel’s campaign against UNRWA
Attempts to dismantle UNRWA are not new. As early as 2017, during a weekly meeting of his cabinet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in public remarks that UNRWA is perpetuating rather than solving the Palestinian refugee problem and fueling anti-Israel sentiment. He believed that UNRWA should be dismantled.
The Israeli government has taken further steps to hamper UNRWA’s ability to operate, including blocking shipping containers at the Israeli port of Ashdod destined for UNRWA in Gaza and containing enough flour for 1.1 million people for five months. They have also withdrawn tax exemptions for UNRWA, attempted to close UNRWA offices in occupied East Jerusalem, and restricted visas for UNRWA international staff. With this information in mind, Israel’s unproven allegations against UNRWA are at best careless and at worse deliberate.
Better late than never
The April 22 final report of the independent investigation into the allegations about UNRWA employees, led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, shows that Israel still has provided no evidence for his claims.
If the Netherlands continues to rely on false confessions from employees, obtained under torture, this will violate our credibility as a champion of humanitarian principles. Last week, Minister Liesje Schreinemacher returned to her post for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. The very first on her to do list now that she resumes her ministership, it must be to resume support for UNRWA and to fulfill international obligations. Children in Gaza cannot wait a day – not an hour – longer.
