The revelations have finally raised much-needed questions about UNRWA’s future
Israeli operations in Gaza have laid bare a troubling reality — the extent of entanglement between Hamas and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), tasked with aiding Palestinian refugees. Shockingly, UNRWA employees took part in the October 7 massacre, its premises were used to store weaponry, and a massive Hamas intelligence center was constructed directly beneath its Gaza headquarters. The revelations have finally raised much-needed questions about UNRWA’s future.
UNRWA was established in 1949 to provide relief to Arab refugees displaced in Israel’s War of Independence. Nowadays, it also provides help in areas like education and health.
The UN basically sorts the world’s millions of refugees into two categories: Palestinian, and everyone else. UNRWA helps the world’s 5.4 million Palestinian refugees, and another body, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), helps the 70.8 million other refugees. Despite the huge disparity in populations served, UNRWA’s staff of 30,000 is nearly twice as large as UNHCR’s staff of 16,803.
UNRWA’s budget ($1.19 billion in 2022) is funded through UN member donations. Western countries provide some three-quarters of the total, with the United States standing as UNRWA’s principal pillar of support.
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