UNRWA pledges to continue services despite Israeli ban and staff risks

Israel’s move sets dangerous precedent that threatens international system, says agency official

Palestinians gather outside of a health clinic run by UNRWA, in the Shuafat refugee camp in Jerusalem. AP

Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says it will continue to operate in the occupied Palestinian territories, despite an Israeli ban on its work that comes into effect on Thursday.

The Israeli parliament passed legislation effectively prohibiting UNRWA from carrying out its work and barring Israeli officials from communicating with the agency in October. Israel has not given details on how it plans to enforce the ban.

Director of external relations and communications at UNRWA, Tamara Al Rifai, said its staff would be continuing their work “within an exceptionally hostile environment”.

“There will be a lack of protection guarantees for our staff – so that if anything happens to them, UNRWA will no longer have access to Israeli officials,” Ms Al Rifai told The National.

“It's going to be very difficult for us as a UN agency to protect our staff.”

Risks include an escalation in “intimidation, harassment and even detention” by Israeli authorities, she said.

“Let's not forget that we've had staff members detained from Gaza over the past 15 months and it's of great concern for us not to be able to communicate with the Israeli government if anything happens,” she added.

The no-communication order also impacts the flow of aid, Ms Al Rifai said, especially because bringing lorries through borders requires communication with the Israeli authorities in control of deliveries.

UNRWA is the largest distributor of aid across Gaza and the West Bank and the second largest employer in occupied Palestine after the Palestinian Authority, with 17,000 workers under its wing. Visas for international staff working for UNRWA expired on Wednesday.

“This is an eviction of international civil servants and UN personnel and an act by the Israeli government that contravenes Israel's obligations under international law,” Ms Al Rifai said.

She said the ban could set a dangerous precedent that challenges the multilateral global system.

“We can easily slip into a trend where any government that doesn't agree with the role, mandate or values that are being promoted by a UN agency, can dismantle or remove it,” she said.

“This is a system that took a lot of effort to put in place and it's now at risk.”

A man walks past the gate of the UNRWA's West Bank Field Office in Jerusalem. Israel banned the agency, preventing it from operating in the occupied Palestinian territories. AFP

With the closure of healthcare centres and schools that benefit millions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, Israel is obligated under international law, as an occupying force, to provide the basic services that UNRWA has been performing since its creation in 1949 in response to the Nakba.

“There is no other UN agency that runs a full-fledged primary healthcare system with clinics, mobile health teams, doctors, nurses and an e-health digital system that keeps records of all patients. There is no other UN agency that has the mandate or the resources to run a full-fledged school system with teachers, educators or the know-how and money to do so,” Ms Al Rifai said.

The UN official said, however, that Israel has not offered an alternative plan to cover the gaps that will arise once the ban is in place.

If there is a political solution that solves the issue of Palestinian refugees and allows them basic access to services, then UNRWA will no longer need to exist and can phase out its service, Ms Al Rifai said.

Right now, the focus is on Jerusalem and the closure of UNRWA's offices there, which Ms Al Rifai say are in a highly coveted spot.

“UNRWA's offices are in the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah which is a prime real estate spot in East Jerusalem. There's been a focus on dislodging UNRWA from its east Jerusalem compound and replacing it with illegal settlements and housing units,” Ms Al Rifai said.

Details remain unclear on how the Israeli law is going to be implemented across the West Bank and Gaza, she added.