Gaza - New York: Europe and the Arabs
The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, warned that the occupied Palestinian territory is at a turning point, threatening to permanently alter the established parameters for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to the UN daily news bulletin, which added, "In his address to the agency's Advisory Commission on Wednesday, Lazzarini said, "We are witnessing the implementation of a project that has been decades in the making to separate Palestinians from Palestine," noting that two million people in Gaza are facing starvation, while food and medical supplies are stranded at the border. He added, "This is absolutely outrageous."
He described the so-called "aid mechanism," established to replace the principled, UN-led international aid operation, as "abhorrent and life-threatening."
Regarding the situation in the occupied West Bank, Lazzarini explained that the additional restrictions on the movement of people and goods are exacerbating the impact of brutal military operations by Israeli security forces and rampant violence by Israeli settlers. He added that in the north, Palestinians have been displaced from camps at levels unprecedented since 1967.
The UN official said that the desire to undermine the viability of a Palestinian state and strip Palestinians of their refugee status has reached such a point that Dismantling UNRWA is a target of the war in Gaza, warning that the agency is collapsing under the weight of relentless political attacks.
He addressed Israeli legislation against UNRWA that came into effect in January, prohibiting the agency's operations in what Israel considers its sovereign territory—including occupied East Jerusalem—and prohibiting contact between Israeli authorities and the agency.
"Allegations are not evidence."
He emphasized that many colleagues have paid a heavy price, with nearly 320 UNRWA staff killed in Gaza, many with their families, calling for "accountability for these and other international crimes."
Lazzarini emphasized that the agency takes allegations of breaches of neutrality seriously, adding: "Our policy on external and political activities makes clear that while personal opinions and convictions are protected—in accordance with human rights—staff are prohibited from engaging in activities or joining any armed group."
The UN official said that "allegations are not evidence," warning that "the absence of evidence and the lack of due process raise the possibility that the accusations against staff may be unjustified." UNRWA's allegations are baseless." He stressed that UNRWA continues to work tirelessly to ensure the integrity of its staff through human resources checks.
Regarding neutrality in education, he emphasized that all UNRWA schools use textbooks from host governments, emphasizing that "this is the best practice in refugee education globally and allows students to pursue higher education and employment more easily."
Implications of the sudden loss of UNRWA
The UNRWA Commissioner-General noted that donor funding received between January and May of this year for the program budget represents only 56 percent of the funding received during the same period last year.
He warned that the agency cannot sustain a significant deficit until 2026—unlike in previous years—due to the loss of two major donors, the United States and Sweden, and the lack of revenues expected to cover this deficit in the first quarter of 2026. Lazzarini emphasized that it is absolutely clear that UNRWA will not survive without a genuine and defined political process. In time.
He added: "In the absence of an orderly transition, the sudden loss or reduction of UNRWA services will only deepen the suffering and despair throughout the occupied Palestinian territory and could spark unrest in neighboring countries."