Over the weekend, 9 countries have cut off contributions to the UNRWA after the agency was suspected to have fired employees that took part in the Hamas attack against Israel. The UNRWA was founded in the wake of Israel’s establishment and includes Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war. The UNHCR’s definition of a refugee differs from the UNRWA’s. Israel underlines that it regards UNRWA as a temporary agency and has criticized the organization’s education system, which it claims incites violence and promotes antisemitism. Despite effort to suspend UNRWA funding, the move could be temporary. Israeli officials believe that UNRWA is a threat to its existence, despite the organization seeing itself as a tool that supplies services for the Arab population in the territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the dismantling of UNRWA, while US President Donald Trump cut the US’s funding for the organization. The move by several donor countries to temporarily suspend UNRWA funding could be temporary.
UNRWA: Israel’s Weaponized Palestinian Arm according to Israelis
