Board of Peace Rules Out Any Role for UNRWA in Gaza
The body overseeing the ceasefire and reconstruction said on Friday it would “only work with trusted partners who will deliver for the people of Gaza and contribute to a deradicalised Strip”, adding that “UNRWA fails on those litmus tests”. The agency employs about 11,000 Palestinians in Gaza and runs much of its healthcare, schooling, water and sanitation. It was left off the partner list for a 66-project plan seeking $2.4bn in its first phase.
The public position and the private one do not match. A board official has confirmed that members met the agency several times, while maintaining that “UNRWA’s days are over”, and two senior United Nations officials describe at least three meetings this year with the Palestinian technocratic committee. The agency’s acting head, Christian Saunders, made the practical argument from Gaza: it retains “capabilities and expertise that are difficult to replicate today”, and to disregard them “at a moment of such profound need is neither logical nor responsible”. Hamas called the decision “a complete alignment with the Zionist position” on Saturday. The allegation underpinning the exclusion — that a significant part of the agency’s staff belong to Hamas or other factions — was found by the International Court of Justice not to have been substantiated. Nearly a year after the ceasefire, reconstruction has not begun at any scale. Watch who actually delivers this winter.