This month, The New York Times claimed that UN officials “are preparing to shutter UNRWA operations in both Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.”This is because of a law passed by the Israeli parliament in late October prohibiting the UN agency that serves Palestinian refugees from operating in the occupied Palestinian territories.
That law is set to take effect at the end of January.
But UNRWA's head Philippe Lazzarini said that his teams “are committed to stay and deliver.” Will they be able to do so if Israel decides to shut the agency down?
UNRWA is a lifeline for some 6 million Palestinian refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. Its tens of thousands of workers provide basic health, education, job training and other vital services.
In Gaza, amid the ongoing genocide, UNRWA is only organization with the capacity to distribute life-saving food aid to any significant number of Palestinians there. Lives depend on its work.
The looming Israeli move to eliminate UNRWA’s operations in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip is not the first threat to the agency, but it may be the most serious.
We talk about this with Chris Gunness, who served as UNRWA’s spokesperson for more than a decade, including during Israel’s 2014 war on Gaza.
This is a segment from The Electronic Intifada's day 461 livestream. Ali Abunimah, Nora Barrows-Friedman, Jon Elmer and Asa Winstanley were joined by former UNRWA head Chris Gunness, and EI contributor and teacher Donya Abu Sitta live from the Gaza Strip. You can watch the full show here:
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