Dr. Sabri Saidam: An earthquake will have profound repercussions on refugees and is part of the war of extermination

Dr. Radi Yaqoub: The decision could lead to disastrous results for refugee camps in terms of services and politics

Nihad Al-Shawish: The decision is part of an Israeli strategy aimed at eliminating the refugee issue

Dr. Jamal Harfoush: The importance of strengthening local initiatives to improve camp conditions and confront the crisis

Muhannad Abdul Hamid: Collective punishment consistent with broader political goals to liquidate the refugee issue

Oraib Al-Rantawi: The Palestinian Authority must take urgent steps to capitalize on the international rejection of the resolution

The recent decision by the Israeli Knesset to ban the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) threatens a humanitarian and political catastrophe, and represents a fundamental threat to Palestinian refugees.

Leaders, officials, writers and political analysts, in separate interviews with “I”, confirm that UNRWA is not just a service provider, but rather represents part of the Palestinians’ identity and narrative, stressing the importance of taking action at all popular and international levels to pressure Israel to cancel the decision, which will lead to disastrous consequences for the Palestinian camps, especially with regard to health, hygiene and education, amid the risk of displacement of the camps themselves as a result.

Deep repercussions and aftershocks

Dr. Sabri Saidam, Deputy Secretary of the Central Committee of the Fatah Movement, considers the recent decision of the Israeli Knesset to ban the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) as an “earthquake” that will have profound repercussions on Palestinian refugees, whether inside or outside Palestine, in terms of services, specifically health, education, or daily services. The decision is also part of the war of extermination against the Palestinians.

Saidam explains that the decision will lead to aftershocks that will reach the Palestinian camps and refugee communities in the host countries, all the way to the donor countries that were providing financial support to UNRWA, noting that the agency provides vital educational, health and daily services to the refugees, and is a platform for preserving the Palestinian narrative, which raises great concern in Israel.

Sa'idam stresses that the Palestinian options in this context must be directed towards pressuring to freeze the implementation of this law and work to cancel it completely.

Saidam stresses that UNRWA is not just an entity that provides temporary services or a transient project, but rather an essential institution that provides educational, health and service support that is an essential parallel to government services inside the camps on a daily basis.

Saidam believes that this Israeli decision is part of a broader plan aimed at displacing Palestinians and dismantling Palestinian society in the camps, which is considered a form of “systematic ethnic cleansing” aimed at erasing Palestinian identity and displacing Palestinians outside the borders.

He points out that the international community faces a major responsibility that goes beyond emotional statements and formal positions.

Saidam says: “The point is in the results, not the feelings, and the point is in the actions, not the wishes,” calling for taking practical steps to pressure Israel to back down from this decision, instead of just denouncing and condemning.

Saidam stresses the importance of having an effective international movement that challenges the Israeli decision, and calls for standing up to the "Israeli impudence" that continues to challenge the United Nations, even though Israel is a member of the organization.

Saidam wonders about the future of Israel's membership in the United Nations in light of its continued disregard for international laws, stressing that this decision is a blatant attack on the international legitimacy granted to Israel by the United Nations, wondering about Israel's right to continue its membership in the United Nations in light of its abuse of the Palestinians and its efforts to prevent them from receiving basic services.

Saedam calls on the world to take a decisive stance, saying: “Either Israel will be the master of the world, or the United Nations will have a real presence.”

Saedam warns that the continuation of this Israeli approach may undermine the role of the United Nations in maintaining international peace and protecting the rights of peoples.

Opening the door to further restrictions on the camps

Dr. Radi Yaqoub, the media spokesman for the Popular Committee for Qalandia Camp Services, points out that the Israeli Knesset’s decision to ban the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has two main dimensions: service and political.

Yaqoub explains that the service aspect is related to providing vital services including education, health and the environment, and is expected to lead to disastrous results for the Palestinian camps.

Yaqoub confirms that the accumulation of waste as a result of the disruption of UNRWA services will lead to the spread of epidemics and social problems, and depriving refugees of these services will increase the financial burdens on the refugee community.

He stressed that cancelling UNRWA health services would cause a serious humanitarian crisis in the camps, where large numbers of refugees depend on the agency for basic health care.

Yaqoub points out that depriving about 46,000 Palestinian students of educational services constitutes a severe blow aimed at the "systematic policy of ignorance" that Israel seeks to impose.

Attempts to undermine authority

On the other hand, Yaqoub asserts that trying to burden the Palestinian Authority with this burden related to services will lead to serious political and economic consequences, and will allow Israel to implement its decision on the ground to gradually reduce the role of UNRWA, which may pave the way for threatening the existence of the Palestinian camps themselves, as they constitute symbols of the right of return and the refugee issue, and perhaps demanding their evacuation in the future, as they are part of UNRWA’s property.

Yaqoub asserts that "everything that is happening now is an attempt to undermine the Palestinian Authority and burden it with additional responsibilities that it cannot bear."

Yaqoub explains that this is the first time that a country has banned the work of a UN organization, UNRWA, which is affiliated with the United Nations. He stresses that the international community must intervene to prevent the implementation of this Israeli decision, as it has repercussions that threaten the work of UN organizations as a whole in the world, not just in Palestine. The decision will pose a major challenge to the international community, as it must stand up to this decision, which will affect the UN organizations that it created, and it must defend them.

Meanwhile, Yaqoub points out that the Department of Refugee Affairs in the Palestine Liberation Organization has formed a legal committee to mobilize international support and follow up on the issue at the global legal level.

Yaqoub points out that closing UNRWA offices in Jerusalem will have serious repercussions on the lives of Palestinians in the city and constitutes a step that opens the door to further restrictions on Palestinian camps.

Yaqoub calls on the popular committees and the entire Palestinian society to take action and protest this decision, and to consider steps to pressure Israel in order to force it to back down.

One more step will cause a disaster in the camps

The head of the Popular Committee for Services in Nour Shams Camp, Nihad Al-Shawish, explains that the situation in the Palestinian camps is already suffering from accumulated pressures, as a result of continuous cuts that have affected all services provided by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) over the past years.

Al-Shawish stressed that the recent Israeli decision to ban UNRWA activities represents an additional step that will greatly exacerbate human suffering and cause a humanitarian disaster in the camps.

Al-Shawish warns that refugees in the West Bank, especially in the camps in the northern West Bank, whose infrastructure and many of their homes and facilities were destroyed as a result of being targeted by the occupation, will face tragic conditions that threaten their daily lives as a result of this decision.

Al-Shawish explains that this decision is not limited to limiting access to basic services for refugees, but rather falls within an Israeli strategy aimed at eliminating the Palestinian refugee issue once and for all.

Al-Shawish believes that “searching for alternatives or accepting this decision as a fait accompli is a crime against refugees and their historical rights, and poses a threat to a long history of struggle for those rights.”

Al-Shawish calls for the necessity of adhering to the struggle to confront this "catastrophic" decision, and working to ensure the continuity of UNRWA's work in the Palestinian camps, stressing that the presence of the agency constitutes an international witness to the rights of Palestinian refugees for 76 years, and cannot be dispensed with or compensated for until the refugees return to the homes from which they were displaced.

The importance of organizing protest steps

In the context of the actual response to the decision, Al-Shawish stresses the importance of taking massive and organized protest steps in all areas where refugees are present, including the diaspora, and the popular committees in the camps must begin immediate and rapid action to confront the decision.

Al-Shawish explains that the movement should include mass protests, in addition to diplomatic and legal moves aimed at pressuring the international level to force Israel to reverse its decision.

Al-Shawish stresses that these activities must be based on broad international support, given that the Israeli decision targets a UN organization that provides essential humanitarian services and bears witness to the rights of Palestinian refugees.

A step beyond the political dimension

Professor Dr. Jamal Harfoush, Professor of Scientific Research Methods and Political Studies at the University of the Academic Research Center in Brazil, believes that Israel’s decision to ban the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is a step that goes beyond the political dimension, to constitute a fundamental threat to the rights of Palestinian refugees, and represents an attempt to dismantle the international umbrella that guarantees their basic rights.

Harfoush points out that restricting or stopping educational and health services is a direct attack on the lives and human dignity of refugees, which threatens to worsen the humanitarian conditions in the camps and increase the suffering of marginalized Palestinian communities.

Harfoush points out that UNRWA schools, which serve hundreds of thousands of Palestinian students, provide them with free education, which is the basic pillar on which refugees depend to build their future.

The risks of disrupting UNRWA's educational role

In light of this ban, Harfoush asserts that disrupting UNRWA’s educational role threatens to deprive an entire generation of the right to education, which effectively translates into a “policy of ignorance” practiced by Israel against Palestinian society.

Regarding health care, Harfoush points out that UNRWA medical centers are one of the few resources that refugees rely on, especially in besieged Gaza, where the disruption of these services contributes to the possibility of the spread of disease and poverty among refugees.

Harfoush believes that this decision came within the framework of Western collusion, whether from the United States or European countries, with Israeli policies that have targeted Palestinian refugees since the Nakba.

Harfoush explains that continued Western support for Israel enables it to take unjust steps such as banning UNRWA, which reflects an international alliance that undermines the rights of refugees and increases the feeling of injustice among Palestinians, which may contribute to the escalation of tensions in the region.

Harfoush urges the international community to intensify its pressure on Israel to cancel the decision, stressing the importance of securing sustainable financial support for UNRWA from donor countries to ensure the continuation of basic services, especially in the areas of education and health.

Harfoush points out that the countries supporting the Palestinian cause, most notably China, Russia and Latin American countries, can play a pivotal role in providing the financial and logistical support necessary for the continuity of UNRWA services, which contributes to strengthening humanitarian efforts to protect the rights of refugees.

Harfoush calls on Arab countries, especially the Gulf countries, to increase their financial contributions to ensure the continuation of UNRWA’s work, noting that this support is not just a financial commitment, but rather a historical and moral responsibility borne by Arab countries towards Palestinian refugees, who depend on the agency’s services in vital sectors such as education and health.

Harfoush stresses that the Arab community can enhance support for UNRWA through popular campaigns and collective awareness to encourage support for the agency in facing current challenges.

Harfoush stresses the need to strengthen local initiatives within Palestinian society to improve the conditions of the camps in order to confront any potential crisis, whether through youth initiatives or civil society efforts.

Harfoush explains that coordinating these efforts could contribute to bridging the gap that may result from the decline in UNRWA’s role, by improving infrastructure and providing basic services, especially in the areas of health and education, in cooperation with humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations.

Harfoush points out that unifying Palestinian efforts between the Palestinian Authority and the various factions to raise awareness of the importance of supporting UNRWA is a fundamental step in confronting this decision. Internal Palestinian cohesion and strengthening national unity can enhance international pressure to confront the Israeli decision, stressing that the Palestinian Authority must benefit from this unity to organize a global diplomatic campaign to expose American and European complicity with this decision.

The need for the authority to adopt strategies to confront the decision

On the other hand, Harfoush stresses the need for the authority to adopt multiple strategies to confront the decision, starting with launching a strong diplomatic campaign to expose international complicity in international forums, such as the United Nations and the Human Rights Council, and ending with focusing on the humanitarian effects of this decision on the lives of refugees.

Harfoush stresses that the goal of this campaign should be to highlight the urgent need for UNRWA to continue providing its services, as an international commitment until the refugee issue is resolved in accordance with international resolutions.

Harfoush believes that holding Arab and Islamic summits to discuss ways to support and fund UNRWA by Arab donor countries could be a pivotal step in confronting this decision.

Harfoush stressed that the Palestinian Authority must coordinate with Arab and Islamic countries to hold international conferences to support UNRWA and collect the necessary donations to ensure the continuation of its services.

Harfoush points to the importance of working on the ground by forming community committees that seek to provide direct support to refugees, especially in the fields of education and health. These committees can organize volunteer campaigns to provide basic services, which contributes to mitigating the effects of the Israeli decision on refugees.

Harfoush points out that the international community bears a moral and legal responsibility towards protecting the rights of refugees and supporting UNRWA to confront the Israeli decision, as any interference with UNRWA’s work is considered a violation of international resolutions.

Harfoush explains that the United Nations and member states must assume their responsibility towards the ban decision, which threatens the agency’s continuity in performing its humanitarian missions.

Harfoush stresses that the European countries that still support UNRWA must increase their financial contributions to compensate for the shortfall resulting from the Israeli ban.

Harfoush points out the importance of activating the role of international non-governmental organizations, such as the Red Cross and the World Health Organization, to provide additional support in the event that UNRWA services falter.

He points out that Arab countries and Latin American countries that support the Palestinian cause must play an effective role in pressuring Israel within international forums, stressing that any effective step must include strengthening international alliances to support the rights of refugees. He stressed that there is a need to organize international conferences to enhance support for UNRWA, and to collect financial donations to ensure the continuity of its humanitarian services.

Harfoush warns that continued international complicity with Israel in its decisions against Palestinian rights is a threat to the stability of the region, stressing that international inaction poses a real threat not only to the rights of Palestinian refugees, but to global peace and stability.

Harfoush calls on the international community to take a bold stance that restores respect for human rights and international laws, by stopping support for Israeli policies that undermine humanitarian efforts and deprive Palestinian refugees of their basic rights.

Muhannad Abdul Hamid: Banning UNRWA is a form of collective punishment and is consistent with broader political goals to liquidate the refugee issue.

Journalist Muhannad Abdul Hamid asserts in a recent article that the recent decision by the Israeli Knesset to ban any activity by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) within what is known as the “territory of the State of Israel” is a severe blow to humanitarian efforts in the occupied Palestinian territories, and doubles the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees.

Abdul Hamid believes that this decision threatens humanitarian stability and exacerbates the crises of Palestinian refugees, who depend on UNRWA as a primary source of relief, education and health, especially in the Gaza Strip, where the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, described the agency as “the backbone of all humanitarian efforts in Gaza.”

650 thousand male and female students are deprived of their right to education

Abdul Hamid explains that the decision to ban UNRWA will deprive 650,000 male and female students of their right to education, especially in Gaza, where dozens of schools have been destroyed due to the ongoing Israeli bombardment, forcing the agency to convert some of the remaining schools into shelters for hundreds of displaced families who lost their homes. The decision will also disrupt the health and relief services provided by UNRWA in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, thus deepening the suffering of refugees and depriving them of basic health care.

According to Abdel Hamid, the ban on UNRWA is nothing but a “form of collective punishment” that is consistent with broader political goals to liquidate the refugee issue as part of the liquidation of the Palestinian issue.

The necessity of working to thwart the decision

Within the framework of the options available to the international community and the Palestinians, Abdel Hamid stresses the importance of taking several immediate steps to ensure the continuation of UNRWA services, including: rejecting the Israeli decision and working to thwart it before it enters into force, with political action that ensures mobilizing international support against the decision.

As well as continuing to support UNRWA politically and financially so that it can continue to provide its services in all five areas of operation, including East Jerusalem, until a permanent solution to the refugee issue is achieved in accordance with United Nations Resolution 194.

Abdul Hamid stresses the need to reject the alternatives proposed by Israel, such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements about establishing “alternative institutions,” which Abdul Hamid described as “an attempt to deceive the international community.”

Abdul Hamid points out that the policy of liquidating UNRWA actually began in 2018, when the administration of former US President Donald Trump stopped funding the agency as part of the “Deal of the Century,” which aims to redefine the Palestinian refugee to include only those who were displaced in 1948, excluding their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. This definition means that the refugee status will fade away over time.

Abdul Hamid stresses that the Palestinian and Arab movement must focus on activating international positions rejecting the Israeli decision, and working to translate statements of condemnation and denunciation into legal and diplomatic measures that oblige Netanyahu's government to hold accountable.

Abdul Hamid points out that undermining UNRWA’s mandate is the biggest challenge to the decision of the International Court of Justice, which confirmed in its legal opinion that “Israel does not have sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem.” This requires returning to the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations, and taking legal and punitive steps to deter Israel and prevent it from implementing the decision.

Abdul Hamid believes that the United Nations today faces a historic responsibility, not only to defend its charter and institutions, but also to preserve international laws and resolutions.

Abdul Hamid warns that silence or hesitation may contribute to transforming international legitimacy into a tool to justify force and arrogance, stressing that the international community is required to take a decisive stand to protect UNRWA and ensure its continued provision of services to Palestinian refugees.

A new chapter in the attack on the UN agency

Director of the Jerusalem Center for Political Studies, Oraib al-Rantawi, considers that Israel’s decision to ban the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the occupied Palestinian territories constitutes a “new chapter” in the ongoing Israeli attack on the agency, which represents a “lifeline” for huge numbers of Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem.

Al-Rantawi stressed that this ban will lead to a decline in the agency’s services in the areas of relief, education and health, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees will be affected, as they depend mainly on UNRWA to secure basic needs, especially in the Gaza Strip, which is going through a critical humanitarian situation.

Al-Rantawi points out that targeting UNRWA comes as part of Israel’s ongoing attempts to “demonize” the organization and accuse it of “providing an umbrella for terrorism,” in an Israeli campaign that goes beyond the agency to specifically target the issue of Palestinian refugees and the right of return, which reflects a clear intention to remove everything related to the symbolism of the “Nakba” and what it represents for Palestinian refugees as a reminder of their painful reality as a result of forced displacement.

More serious repercussions on Gaza

He believes that the repercussions of the decision to ban UNRWA will be more dangerous for the people of the Gaza Strip, who are facing a state of systematic genocide, as this reality includes the starvation and displacement of thousands of Palestinian families due to the ongoing bombing and the stifling siege.

Al-Rantawi explains that UNRWA is the only agency capable of meeting basic relief needs due to its infrastructure and extensive network of work. Thus, the decision to ban the agency is an extension of the “war of extermination” that Gaza is being subjected to, and a war on the interests of millions of refugees, especially in light of the current crisis that the Strip is experiencing.

Although the Israeli decision faced a wave of international condemnation, including from the United States, Rantawi points to the weakness of the American position and the inaction of the current administration, which weakens the chances of taking strict measures to curb the Israeli attack on UNRWA.

Rantawi stresses that these decisions should not be surrendered to by the Palestinian leadership or considered a reality, but rather they should be resisted and thwarted by unifying the Palestinian front and interacting with the international community to thwart the Israeli plan aimed at weakening UNRWA.

Al-Rantawi points out the necessity for the Palestinian Authority to take urgent steps to capitalize on the international rejection of this decision, by mobilizing support to protect UNRWA and applying pressure through all international forums.

He points out that the Palestinian Authority must lead coordinated efforts to move the international community towards measures that will overturn Israel's decision, using all possible pressure cards, including reviewing the agreements concluded with Israel.

Al-Rantawi believes that the Palestinian Authority must unify the Palestinian word by establishing a national consensus government that brings together all forces under the umbrella of the PLO, noting that a “unified Palestinian front” will be able to confront “ongoing Israeli projects.”

In this context, Rantawi stresses the necessity of strengthening Palestinian unity and activating institutions that represent all Palestinians, in order to create a strong Palestinian position capable of expressing rejection of these decisions and restoring UNRWA’s status on the international level.

Al-Rantawi points to the importance of partnership with countries supporting UNRWA, whether refugee-hosting countries or donor countries, to form an international coalition that supports the agency’s continued provision of its services, as the international campaign supporting UNRWA can be restored, which succeeded in saving the agency from the targeting attempts it was subjected to in 2018 by the Trump administration.

There is still an opportunity to build a global coalition to support UNRWA.

Al-Rantawi explains that the opportunity is still available to build a global coalition to support UNRWA, but this requires a “unified and comprehensive Palestinian movement” led by the Palestinian Authority and the PLO with a unified and strong voice.

Al-Rantawi stresses that unifying the Palestinian ranks is the basis for achieving any effective international action, stressing that the starting point is to create a unified Palestinian position and effective institutions, while stressing the importance of communicating with the countries hosting Palestinian refugees and the countries supporting UNRWA to ensure that they are not affected by the Israeli decision.

Al-Rantawi believes that building a unified internal front will have a significant impact on the efforts made to confront these racist decisions, calling on the Palestinian Authority to act urgently to protect Palestinian rights and ensure the continuity of services provided to refugees.