The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) moved the files of millions of refugees to a “safe place” about two weeks before the Israeli decision to ban it came into effect.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that the family records of Palestine refugees have been preserved and archived for the past 75 years. He added in a post on the X platform that thanks to the UNRWA teams, thousands of archival files from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have been transferred to a safe place and converted into digital files.

Lazzarini stressed that preserving these files is essential to protecting the rights of Palestine refugees under international law. He said that UNRWA is the faithful guardian of the identity and history of Palestine refugees.

Lazzarini called for addressing the plight of Palestinian refugees once and for all, through a peaceful diplomatic solution that ends the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

UNRWA’s move comes as it faces an uncertain fate with Israel’s insistence on moving forward with implementing the law passed by the Knesset on October 28, which permanently bans UNRWA’s activities in Israel. The law stipulates that “UNRWA will not operate any representative office, will not provide any service, and will not carry out any activity, directly or indirectly, in the territory of the State of Israel.”

The law would nullify the 1967 agreement that allowed UNRWA to operate in Israel, and ban all contact between Israeli officials and its employees. The decision would effectively end UNRWA’s operations in East Jerusalem, where it provides education, health and civil services to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and would severely limit UNRWA’s activities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, where the agency relies on coordination with Israel to provide humanitarian aid and other services.

It is not known how far Israel will go in besieging UNRWA, but without coordination with it, it will be almost impossible for UNRWA to operate in Gaza or the West Bank. Israel will not issue entry permits for UNRWA employees to those territories, will not allow coordination with the Israeli military to bring in aid, and may block the entry of medicines, as well as the transfer of funds that allow UNRWA to pay its employees and fund its operations. This means depriving millions of Palestinians of education, health care and aid services, something the agency is aware of, and it said that time is running out quickly.

At the beginning of last week, UNRWA confirmed that the United Nations does not plan to replace the agency in the Palestinian territories, even if it is permanently banned.

Initially, UNRWA plans to remain in the West Bank and Gaza Strip until the picture becomes clearer. Lazzarini said in a previous interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that “it is very difficult to describe. What could happen is that all international staff would be forced to leave the occupied Palestinian territories; that is, Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank, but the next day, schools and health centers could continue to operate with qualified Palestinian cadres of teachers, nurses and doctors.”

It is most likely that the fate of UNRWA will be decided by the new US President, Donald Trump.

A source in the international agency told Asharq Al-Awsat that UNRWA is waiting to see how Israel will deal with its international employees, and what about the supply of medicines and the transfer of funds. He added: “We believe that things will be very difficult, and perhaps the matter is in the hands of President Trump, his decisions will contribute greatly to resolving the issue.”

In 2017, Trump stopped funding the agency, considering it corrupt and useless for peace, and rejecting the numbers of refugees registered with it, before the administration of President Joe Biden resumed funding the agency, then last January froze any contributions to the agency until March 2025, after Israeli accusations that some of its employees participated in the attack of October 7, 2023.

With Trump back in power, he will have to decide whether to support Israel's decision and stop funding UNRWA, or resume funding the agency.

The US State Department warned Trump's team that there is no alternative to the agency in the Gaza Strip, but there are no indications yet that Trump will change his old position.

UNRWA provides life-saving services to some 5.9 million Palestine refugees in 58 camps across its five fields of operation, including Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. The Agency’s services include education, health care, relief, infrastructure and camp improvement, community support, microfinance and emergency response, including in times of armed conflict. UNRWA has evacuated its headquarters in Jerusalem and faces significant complications in the Gaza Strip today, but continues to operate in the West Bank to date.