The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has been providing humanitarian aid to approximately 6 million Palestinian refugees since 1950. The agency has around 30,000 employees in the region, with 13,000 of them based in Gaza. Israel has been working towards the closure of the agency for some time.
Israel had requested Western countries to cut their financial contributions to the agency, alleging that 12 of its employees had participated in operations carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023. As a result of Israel's fabricated allegations, 18 countries, including the US and several European nations, immediately suspended their contributions. Without waiting for evidence, the agency management terminated the contracts of nine of the 12 accused employees, two of whom were already deceased.
Despite Israel being responsible for the deaths of over 25,000 women and children in its attacks, the US and Western governments, unable to confront Israel, took a decision that endangered the lives of millions of refugees. Violating universal legal principles such as the principle of individual responsibility for crimes, Western governments, which claim to advocate for human rights, justice, and law, opted to punish millions of civilians squeezed into a narrow area under blockade from all sides.
While Israel bombarded Gaza, European countries tightened the noose around the agency's neck, exacerbating the situation. The US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, admitted during a session in the US Congress that more than 25,000 women and children had been killed in Israel's attacks. It was also the US that provided Israel with weapons and ammunition, including precision-guided munitions, which were used in these attacks.
The US and Western governments, backing Israel, not only cut off funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which plays a vital role in providing aid to all Palestinian refugees, but also failed to provide any evidence to support Israel's claims regarding the agency. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarked, 'We did not have the opportunity to conduct our own investigation. However, these allegations seem highly credible.'
A report from the US National Intelligence Council, highlighted in a February 21 article in The Wall Street Journal, pointed out that Israel's accusations against the agency's 12 employees were considered 'low confidence' and that Israel had not shared raw intelligence data. Despite this, the European Parliament held discussions on the agency's funding on February 27 in Strasbourg. Janez Lenarcic, the European Commissioner for Crisis Management and Humanitarian Aid, emphasized that Israel had not provided evidence to support its claims that 12 agency staff members were involved in the October 7 attacks.
An investigation was initiated within the framework of the UN regarding Israel's allegations. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated in a February 29 announcement that Israel had not provided evidence regarding the 12 employees of the 'UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees.' Norwegian Refugee Council Secretary-General Jan Egeland also noted in a February 29 article in the Financial Times that Israel had not presented any evidence. Criticizing the countries that suspended contributions to the agency, Egeland questioned whether it was a coincidence that these allegations arose after the International Court of Justice called on Israel to comply with international law regarding genocide.
Egeland highlighted that Gaza was being kept alive by the agency and that the agency was Gaza's lifeline. Causing conditions that threaten the survival of an entire population or part of it is one of the elements of the definition of 'genocide' under international law. What is happening in Gaza goes far beyond that. Civilians, women, babies, and children are under attack from all sides, facing threats to their lives, food, water, medicine, shelter, and access to healthcare. The biggest supporter and arms supplier of Israel, the US, is engaging in shameful, symbolic efforts, such as dropping food parcels from the air.
By punishing the 'UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees,' which is a crucial element of the supposedly rule-based international order of the UN, the supporters of Israel in the US and the West have actually endangered the lives of millions of people, a fact that neither human conscience nor history will ever forget.
