UNRWA: A Milestone in a Final Struggle
Date
2025-01
Authors
Daoud Al-Ghoul
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Al-Quds University
Abstract
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been at the center of diverse reactions following the withdrawal of U.S. funding. This orchestrated campaign, rooted in falsehoods and distortions, is driven by the U.S. and Israel, with various countries joining at different stages over the years (UNRWA, 2024). Numerous reports and studies have scrutinized the motives behind this long-standing campaign, offering analyses of both its origins and strategies for counteraction (Salah, 2018; Azza, 2008).
Some argue that the resulting financial crisis could pave the way for the political erasure of the refugee issue (Al-Sahli, 2022). In broader terms, the prevailing consensus points to a shared objective: to dissolve the rights of Palestinian refugees, particularly their right to return to the homes from which they were forcibly displaced. Anis Mohsen highlights that efforts to undermine this right have been ongoing since the aftermath of the Nakba and persist to this day (Mohsen, 2019, p. 83).
Since the beginning of the war on Gaza, the campaign against UNRWA has intensified, driven by accusations aimed at demonizing the agency, even labeling it as a terrorist organization. This rhetoric seeks to justify its termination. Central to this effort is a broader strategy, employed by both the U.S. and Israel, to reshape identities, creating a sharp division between “us” and “them.” This tactic, as Graham (2011) notes, turns the "other" into a despised enemy, thus rationalizing their targeting (p. 36, 348).
One striking example of this approach is the allegation that 190 UNRWA employees in Gaza are affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Further accusations claim that agency employees have participated in kidnappings and killings (Russia Today, 2024). However, some researchers and media outlets view the post-war campaign as a separate phase from the earlier years. For instance, media reports mention a "top-secret" plan by Israel’s Foreign Ministry drafted in December 2023, entitled “No UNRWA After the War on Gaza” (Yaghi, 2024).
This article seeks to place these developments in the broader context of global, regional, and local shifts. The drive to end UNRWA’s operations cannot be understood without considering parallel efforts to dissolve the Palestinian refugee issue and even the Palestinian cause itself. The agency, therefore, is just one target in a larger campaign, which extends beyond the right of return and aims at a comprehensive liquidation of Palestinian aspirations.