New York: UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini warned Friday that dismantling the UN Palestinian refugee agency risks undermining the Gaza ceasefire agreement and derailing Gaza recovery. "Dismantling UNRWA now, outside a political process, will undermine the ceasefire agreement and sabotage Gaza's recovery and political transition," the UN official said in a press briefing after a special UN Security Council on Gaza. "In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority has stated clearly that it does not have the financial resources or capacity to compensate for the loss of UNRWA's services." Lazzarini pointed out that he had informed the UNSC that "a chaotic dismantling of UNRWA will irreversibly harm the lives and future of Palestinians."
According to Kuwait News Agency, Lazzarini cautioned that dismantling the agency would obliterate Palestinians' trust in the international community and any solution it attempts to facilitate. He warned that the Knesset legislation to end UNRWA's operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories will soon enter into force, and its full implementation will be catastrophic, weakening the international humanitarian response in Gaza and worsening living conditions. The UN official refuted Israeli claims that UNRWA's services could be transferred to other entities, emphasizing the agency's unique mandate and capacity to provide public-like services to an entire population.
He noted that UNRWA's personnel and services are tightly woven into the social fabric of Gaza, and the disintegration of the agency would intensify the breakdown of social order. Lazzarini highlighted a global disinformation campaign against the agency led by the Israeli government, which has targeted parliaments and governments in top donor countries. He indicated that billboards and ads accusing UNRWA of terrorism have appeared in several cities, funded by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The UN official also mentioned that Google ad campaigns redirect people to disinformation websites, endangering UN staff in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
Lazzarini expressed that this propaganda creates a permissive environment for the harassment of UN representatives in Europe and the US. He reported that the Israeli Foreign Ministry received a funding boost for such propaganda, significantly impacting UNRWA's operations. On the ceasefire deal, the UN official welcomed it and called for its full implementation, highlighting the need for rapid and unhindered humanitarian access to address the suffering in Gaza. He affirmed UNRWA's readiness to support the international response and aid delivery, emphasizing the need for a political transition that includes an orderly conclusion of UNRWA's mandate.
Lazzarini also pointed out that UNRWA plays a critical role in providing primary healthcare and education in Gaza and the West Bank. The agency is the largest provider of primary healthcare in Gaza and the second-largest in the West Bank, conducting approximately 17,000 medical consultations per day. He emphasized the importance of resuming education in Gaza and preserving it in the West Bank to avoid sacrificing a generation of Palestinian children. The UNRWA chief stressed the need for increased financial support to the agency, urging key donors to reconsider ending or reducing their contributions.