By Sireen Hajaig | Contributing Writer
Since the establishment of the Israeli state in 1948, the UNRWA played a crucial role in providing services to displaced Palestinians. It assists them by facilitating access to education, healthcare, and social services. However, following the outbreak of the current Israeli attack on Gaza following the October 7 events, Israel accused UNRWA workers of being affiliated with Hamas and having had a role in the October 7 attack. This accusation separated the world in half, where major countries cut their funding to UNRWA, including the US, UK, Australia, and most European countries. On the other hand, other states have kept and/or increased their funding like Spain which recently donated 50 million euros to UNRWA, or Portugal which increased their donation by a million euros. This crisis mirrors the current worldwide situation, where on one hand we see the West countering any ceasefire resolutions and other states who are advocating for the cessation of the current conflict. The Spanish government even commented: “We consider the UNRWA funding cuts by some countries as an attack against humanity”.
The UNRWA is one of the only standing institutions in Palestine that in this current situation is able to provide humanitarian relief efforts, especially with the ongoing forced displacement of Gazans. The vast majority of the people who had to flee their homes ended up in tents provided by the UNRWA. Thus, the reliance on UNRWA by Gaza residents is immense, and since most governments who cut their ties were the big donors, the suspension of funds effectively jeopardizes the only remaining lifeline of millions of Palestinians in and outside of Gaza. Thomas White, director of the UNRWA affairs in Gaza states: “It’s difficult to imagine that Gazans will survive this crisis without UNRWA”. Aid groups and UN agencies prompt donors to keep on supporting UNRWA. The World Health Organization even stated how catastrophic the consequences would be and even speculated that defunding UNRWA could lead to it shutting down completely.
Finally, to put it in perspective, the Gaza Strip hosts more than 2 million Palestinian citizens. Since the start of the war, more than one million were displaced and currently, the 2.2 million Gazans are living in the south of the strip by Rafah, located on the border with Egypt. With the limited amount of aid that is entering the strip, famine is looming, diseases are spreading, and Palestinians have no access to clean drinkable water or food. This crisis keeps on worsening and with the UNRWA crisis, it is only expected to get worse.
Source:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2452446/middle-east