Israel Reportedly Proposes Disbanding UNRWA, Transferring Functions to Other Bodies
09:59 01.04.2024 (Updated: 13:41 01.04.2024)
© AFP 2023 MAHMUD HAMS
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Israel has lodged a proposal with the United Nations for dismantling the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), delegating the mandate to different agencies and repurposing staff for food aid distribution, the British media reported on Sunday, citing UN sources.
Israeli chief of the general staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi handed over the proposal to UN officials in Israel late last week, who then forwarded it to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday, the report read.
Israel reportedly said in its proposal that it was open to allow large amounts of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip but feared that the UN did not have enough capacity to handle its admission and distribution. The proposal is to move 300 to 400 UNRWA staff to a different UN agency, such as the World Food Programme, or create a new one specifically for handling food aid in the Gaza Strip, according to the report.
However, some UN officials see this as a culmination of what the Guardian described as Israel's campaign to eliminate UNRWA.
"If we allow this, it is the slippery slope to us being completely managed directly by the Israelis, and the UN directly being complicit in undermining UNRWA, which is not only the biggest aid provider but also the biggest bastion of anti-extremism in Gaza," an unnamed UN official was quoted as saying. "We would be playing into so many political agendas if we allowed this to happen."
