Israel is quietly putting pressure on the United States and the United Nations to allow the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to continue playing a leading role in providing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, according to what the Wall Street Journal quoted Israeli and American officials as saying.

A report yesterday, Monday, stated that a plan is being prepared in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs aimed at canceling UNRWA’s work in the Palestinian territories after the war, and replacing it with other United Nations or American agencies, claiming that 12 out of thousands of UNRWA employees participated in the attack on October 7 last year.

However, the American newspaper reported that an Israeli delegation met last week with senior officials of the Biden administration as well as the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, to discuss the future of UNRWA.

The newspaper added that the Israeli delegation, which included military officials, told American and UN officials that they wanted UNRWA to continue providing vital humanitarian aid in Gaza in the short term, while ensuring a comprehensive post-war investigation into the agency’s 12 employees who allegedly had links to Hamas attack. They said that Israel wants to either deeply reform UNRWA or abolish it.

An Israeli official with knowledge of the visit said, "We want our international partners to either completely reform UNRWA or come up with an alternative." US officials said they generally agree with Israel that the agency needs reform, and that there is currently no alternative to getting aid into Gaza, according to US officials familiar with the meetings.

Yesterday, the United Nations announced that it had appointed an independent review group to evaluate whether the agency had complied with the UN mandate of neutrality, and if not, to propose steps to address the situation. It would be led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. The United Nations said the review will issue an interim report in March and a final report in late April.

Israel has long had a troubled relationship with UNRWA, which runs schools, health care clinics and other relief operations for Palestinian refugees in Gaza and four other areas. Israeli officials claim that not only has Hamas infiltrated part of the agency, but they also say that UNRWA is reducing the governance burden on Hamas, freeing up more resources for the struggle. They also say the agency has long been biased against Israel.

The Israeli delegation, headed by the head of the occupation's Civil Administration, Ghassan Olayan, met with the Biden administration's senior advisor for Middle East affairs, Brett McGurk, the Assistant Secretary of State, Barbara Leaf, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General C. Q. Brown Jr., and the Director of the United States Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, in meetings in Washington and New York, according to US and Israeli officials.

Since the Israeli allegations emerged, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called several times for the dissolution of UNRWA. He claimed that "UNRWA is not part of the solution, but rather part of the problem."

However, the newspaper noted that there was a policy memo circulated within the Israeli army, warning against tarnishing UNRWA's reputation before the government formalized policy toward the agency, according to a person who reviewed the position paper. The source added that the document also suggests that the army should continue to collect information about UNRWA, and not distribute it.

A smaller Israeli delegation also met with UN President Guterres. Guterres' spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said that his meeting last Thursday "was an opportunity to clarify the need for the United Nations to have greater access to humanitarian aid to Gaza."

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that Israel limits or prevents access into Gaza, especially to the north of the Strip.

Dujarric added: “For us, UNRWA activities remain essential for the survival of Palestinians in Gaza.”