After nearly four months of war, the situation in Gaza is catastrophic. More than 75 percent of the region’s population of more than 2 million people have been evacuated. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed, many of them children. The United Nations warns that famine is imminent. Infectious diseases are widespread. The lack of medical care is significant.
The main lifeline for Gazans in this environment is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), an almost 75-year-old agency that is funded almost entirely by voluntary donations. At least 15 countries, including the United States, have now suspended payments to UNRWA pending an investigation following Israeli intelligence reports that more than a dozen UNRWA employees took part in the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. announced.
But now is exactly the wrong time to stop funding UNRWA. Norway remains steadfast in our commitment to continue funding this vital institution and the Palestinian people. As Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, I urge other donors to consider the far-reaching implications of blocking UNRWA.
If these decisions are not reversed, we run a grave risk of exacerbating Gaza’s dire humanitarian crisis. UNRWA also supports millions of Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, so suspending payments could further destabilize an already highly volatile region.
But the world needs to continue funding UNRWA for more than practical reasons. We should not collectively punish millions of people for the alleged actions of a few.
Norway, like other donor countries, is appalled by the allegations that 12 of the 13,000 UNRWA personnel in the Gaza Strip were involved in terrorist attacks against Israel, but we remain as strong as we can in response to these attacks. He criticizes them verbally. Such behavior will not be tolerated. We therefore welcome UNRWA Director General Philippe Lazzarini’s response to dismiss the accused individuals and launch an investigation. Norway expects full transparency. If the allegations are verified, those involved in the attack must be held accountable.
But cutting off funding to a major UN agency because of the alleged conduct of 12 staff members do not have answer. If some member of a police department commits a crime, that individual would be held accountable rather than disbanding the entire police force. We need to distinguish between what individuals may have done and what UNRWA represents.
Since its founding in 1949, UNRWA has provided basic services, education, shelter, camp infrastructure, and emergency assistance to people displaced or forced from their homes in the 1948 war that followed the creation of the state of Israel. . The refugee population at that time was approximately 750,000. Today, four generations later, approximately 5.9 million Palestinian refugees are eligible for UNRWA services across the region.
Since the war began, UNRWA staff in the Gaza Strip, most of whom are locally hired, have been working in the area, risking their lives every day to carry out relief efforts in extreme conditions. Like many others, they paid a heavy price. More than 150 UNRWA personnel have been killed since October 7.
Norway, a relatively small country, is one of the largest contributors to UNRWA, contributing $45 million last year, much less than the United States. Norway has made the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians a priority since the negotiations that led to the first Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, signed in 1993. For the past 30 years, Norway has chaired the international aid body for Palestine. It focuses on supporting the establishment of Palestinian institutions, which are key to establishing a Palestinian state.
Nearly 6 million Palestinians did not choose to live as refugees. I am convinced that they, like us, want to live in a country they can call their own. The question of the fate of Palestinian refugees is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but 75 years later, no political solution has been found. A fair and just settlement would be an essential precondition for peace and a two-state solution, not only for the Palestinians but also for Israel.
UNRWA is more than just a humanitarian organization. This represents the international community’s commitment to Palestinian refugees.Its work is also important for the presence of other humanitarian organizations in Gaza
We need more humanitarian access to war-torn Gaza, not less. Indeed, improved humanitarian access is a key issue in ongoing conversations about a possible agreement to release the remaining Israeli hostages, combined with a continued cessation of hostilities. For the latter to be successful, we need people who can make it happen on the ground. As UNRWA’s critics have suggested, replacing UNRWA’s extensive support infrastructure with alternative channels would take too long.
Therefore, I say to my fellow donors: We need to demand transparency and accountability from UNRWA. But the people of Gaza and Palestinian refugees across the Middle East should not pay the price for their individual sins. We cannot abandon the Palestinians now.