What is Unrwa and why did Israel move to ban it?published at 16:08 Greenwich Mean Time 29 October
Founded in 1949, the
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, or Unrwa, works in Gaza, the
West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, initially caring for the 700,000
Palestinians who were forced from or fled their homes after the creation of the
state of Israel.
It has long been
criticised by Israel, with many there objecting to its very existence.
The fate of refugees has been a core issue in the Arab-Israeli
conflict, with Palestinians harbouring a
dream of returning to homes in historic Palestine, parts of which are now in
Israel.
Israel rejects their claim and criticises the set-up of
Unrwa for allowing refugee status to be inherited by successive generations.
It says this entrenches
Palestinians as refugees, and encourages their hopes of a right of return.
Unrwa is now the biggest UN agency operation in Gaza. It employs some 13,000 people there and is key to humanitarian efforts.
It distributes aid and runs shelters and key infrastructure – such as medical facilities, teacher training centres and almost 300 primary schools.
These have been a source of criticism from Israel, which has denounced the agency’s teaching and textbooks for, in their view, perpetuating anti-Israel views.
In 2022, an Israeli watchdog said Unrwa educational material taught students that Israel was attempting to “erase Palestinian identity”.
The European Commission identified what it called “anti-Semitic material” in the schoolbooks, “including even incitement to violence”, and the European Parliament has called repeatedly for EU funding to the Palestinian Authority to be conditional on removing such content.
Unrwa has previously said reports about its educational material were “inaccurate and misleading” and that many of the books in question were not used in its schools.
After the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel, allegations that some Unrwa staff were involved further amplified calls in Israel for the agency to be banned. The UN investigated Israel’s claim and fired nine people, but it said Israel had not provided evidence for more allegation and Unwra denied any wider involvement with Hamas.