In 1967, after the Six Day War, Israel expressed willingness to cooperate with the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) and did so for 60 years. But now, Israel has finally had enough.
In the early days following the Six Day War, UNRWA and Israel exchanged letters agreeing to cooperate, leading the Knesset to pass legislation covering UNRWA’s protection, movement, and diplomatic immunity.
Fast forward to November 4, 2024: Israel’s Foreign Ministry has officially informed the United Nations that it is ending its cooperation with UNRWA.
This decision comes a week after the Knesset passed legislation barring official contact between UNRWA and the state. Israel has now passed a second bill that revokes the 1967 agreement established through the letter exchange between UNRWA and Israel. In those letters, Israel made it clear that this was a provisional agreement “which will remain in force until replaced or canceled.”
And now, Israel has decided to cancel.
Some argue that it was a mistake for Israel to cut ties with UNRWA without offering alternatives. Critics contend that ending cooperation with UNRWA pulls the rug out from under millions of beneficiaries who depend on the agency’s aid. They argue that this decision risks sowing unrest among Palestinians, worsening the economic crisis in the West Bank, and intensifying the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
However, the reality is that the issues with UNRWA are no longer something Israel can ignore. Although UNRWA is technically an offshoot of the United Nations, it functions largely as a Palestinian organization, one that has been infiltrated and compromised by Hamas. The United Nations has done nothing to address these issues. UNRWA’s problems are extensive, including its employment of known Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives.
UNRWA promotes radical, unrealistic narratives
Even before that, UNRWA was known for promoting radical and unrealistic Palestinian narratives that undermined Israel’s legitimacy. Through UNRWA, Palestinians have been led to believe that their home was not Gaza but Tel Aviv and all corners of present-day Israel. UNRWA has perpetuated Palestinian refugee status, fostering the belief that only as refugees can they and their descendants return to Israel and dismantle the Jewish state.
That alone should have been enough to warrant serious concern. However, the world turned a blind eye to the hatred and incitement found in UNRWA’s educational materials and among its teaching staff.
Just last week, Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel confronted UNRWA staff during his visit to Ramallah and condemned the terror glorification in their textbooks, stating, “UNRWA is not neutral if they teach this.”
Finally, Israel cannot, in good conscience, ignore the fact that some UNRWA employees actively participated in the October 7 attacks, including murdering and kidnapping civilians and even holding hostages in their homes. Meanwhile, the United Nations has done nothing to hold the agency accountable.
UNRWA has to go
UNRWA has to go. Israel cannot work with an organization that enables Hamas activities, aids and abets terrorism, and provides shelter to those holding civilians hostage. While it’s essential for Israel to develop an alternative strategic plan for Palestinians to prevent regional instability and security concerns, Israel has every right to proceed with this decision.
What happens next? The UNRWA ban will take effect in three months. This gives Israel enough time to devise a strategic plan in collaboration with other UN agencies and international humanitarian NGOs to facilitate aid to civilians in Gaza.
There is ample opportunity to develop alternatives, but no one should expect Israel to cooperate with organizations compromised by genocidal groups that have openly called for its destruction.
The writer is a social media activist with over 10 years of experience working for Israeli and Jewish causes and cause-based NGOs. She is a co-founder and COO of Social Lite Creative, a digital marketing firm specializing in geopolitics.