The Israeli Attack on UNRWA After October 7

Causes, Contexts, and Political and Humanitarian Repercussions

Introduction

UNRWA was established as a result of the refugee crisis arising from the Palestinian Nakba of 1948, and as part of international efforts to provide humanitarian support to the Palestinian refugees of 1948([1]). It was established pursuant to UN General Assembly Resolution 302([2]) issued on December 8, 1949, and UNRWA stands as a witness to the international community's commitment to the Palestinian cause. UNRWA operates as part of the UN system, and receives its funding from member states([3]), and the purpose of its establishment was to provide temporary support to Palestinian refugees pending a political solution to their cause.

Its main tasks consist of providing education([4]), healthcare, food aid, relief services, and social protection, and it also works to improve living conditions in refugee camps and to strengthen stability and security in the region.

Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, UNRWA stands out as a humanitarian institution working to provide support and protection to Palestinian refugees([5]); however, the Agency has faced immense challenges, perhaps the most prominent being the Israeli attack targeting its legitimacy and its existence. This research aims to explore the causes that led to this attack, and to analyze the repercussions arising from it, whether on the humanitarian, political, or legal level, and by examining historical and contemporary events, we will try to understand how this attack has affected UNRWA's work, and what threat it poses to the future of Palestinian refugees and to stability in the region.

([1]) The concept of the Palestinian refugee has evolved three times since 1949, as UNRWA defines Palestinian refugees as "persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine for at least two years before the outbreak of the conflict in 1948, and who lost both their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the conflict, and are in need." On July 4, 1967, the definition was amended and expanded to include persons affected by the '67 war, according to its own statement to that effect. UNRWA's operations also came to include Palestinian refugees in Egypt, following the issuance of Resolutions 2252 in July 1967 and 2341 in December 1967, and UNRWA's definition of a Palestinian refugee was amended to include all descendants of the original Palestine refugees.

([2]) UNRWA began its operations on May 1, 1950, initially responding to the needs of about 750,000 refugees, and with the passage of time and the failure to resolve the refugee issue, UNRWA's mandate has been periodically renewed, and its services have expanded to include education, healthcare, and social relief. UNRWA is considered a primary source of support for more than 5 million Palestinian refugees, and plays a vital role in the region's stability by providing basic services and contributing to human security.

([3]) Paragraph 13 of the text of Resolution No. 203 issued by the UN General Assembly in 1949.

([4]) In Gaza alone, the Agency was operating 183 schools before the war, serving about 300,000 Palestinian children, and education receives the largest share of UNRWA's budget. It is noted that this will affect 715 schools — elementary, preparatory, and secondary — hosting about 550,000 male and female students, as the education component represents two-thirds of UNRWA's budget of 1.6 billion US dollars.

([5]) The Agency employs 32,000 staff members across its area of operations, 13,000 of them in Gaza.

Prepared by: Dr. Ibrahim Hamad