Defunding UNRWA: With this act western powers are likely complicit in genocide
Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on 16 January 2024
Hasan Basri Bulbul writes in Middle East Eye on 30 January 2024:
On Friday [26 January], the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in favour of provisional measures in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.
Finding the risk of genocide plausible, the court ordered Israel to refrain from genocidal activities, prevent their commission, and punish those inciting genocide. Crucially, the court also ordered Israel to take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Just two days later, while everyone was still grappling with the implications of this ruling, nine major donor countries of UNRWA the UN agency mandated to provide assistance and essential services to Palestinian refugees, announced the suspension of their funding to the organisation. The countries include the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Australia, and Canada.
While there has been some confusion regarding the provisional measures, especially since the court did not order an immediate suspension of military operations by Israel in Gaza, the clearest measure by the court – ensuring access to adequate humanitarian assistance – has been rendered ineffective by the decision of these countries, based on the claims that 12 out of the 13,000 Unrwa staff were involved in the 7 October attacks against Israel.
While the world expected western governments to reconsider their carte blanche support for Israel after the ICJ ruling, it seems that they decided to take their stance against Palestinian people under the risk of genocide to another level.
This blatant decision, putting hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza at risk, is particularly shocking after the ICJ’s order to ameliorate the humanitarian situation on the ground.
Risk of famine
UNRWA is the lifeline for Gaza, a tiny strip densely populated by refugees and their descendants. Out of the total population of 2.3 million, 1.7 million people are refugees or internally displaced. These people heavily depend on UNRWA assistance and services.
Almost all people of Gaza are now at risk of famine and plague as the food and healthcare system has been extensively destroyed by Israel. The Israeli response to the 7 October attacks had already caused a large-scale forced displacement in Gaza, further overwhelming the operation of UNRWA. Moreover, at least 152 UNRWA personnel have been killed by Israel, not to mention those wounded.
In December, in a letter to the president of the UN General Assembly, UNRWA’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini warned that the agency is on the edge of collapsing. He stated: “In my 35 years of work in complex emergencies, I would never have expected to write such a letter, predicting the killing of my staff and the collapse of the mandate I am expected to fulfil.”