The U.S.-created Board of Peace has said the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees has no place in Gaza JERUSALEM -- As the U.S.-created Board of Peace pushes ahead with plans to rebuild Gaza, it’s said there’s no place for the U.N. body that for decades has provided support to displaced Palestinians. But the agency’s most recent head says that behind the scenes, board members and others have been more open to working with the U.N. agency for Palestinians than it seems. Israel wants the agency out of Gaza and has repeatedly accused it of being infiltrated by Hamas militants, allegations that the International Court of Justice says have not been substantiated.
And yet UNRWA remains the territory’s largest aid provider, playing a key role in health and education. Philippe Lazzarini, who was head of UNRWA until earlier this year, told The that members of the Palestinian technocratic committee want to work with the agency. Another U.N. official shared with AP minutes from meetings where UNRWA and the committee discussed collaborating on plans for Gaza.
A Board of Peace official confirmed that board members had met multiple times with UNRWA officials. The agency’s days are over, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. But its programs “may persist if they are serving Gazans well,” the official added.
Israel's foreign ministry did not respond when asked about these remarks. There’s been no reconstruction in Gaza, almost a year since the ceasefire. Israel still prevents the entry of the Palestinian committee chosen by the Board of Peace to eventually govern the strip, saying Hamas must first disarm.
The Board says it can activate its plans for Gaza in earnest once the committee gets inside the strip. That's left UNRWA on the ground in Gaza, with far more workers than any other U.N. agency or nongovernmental organization. It props up about half of Gaza’s public health system, said Lazzarini, whose last working day was March 31.
He plans to publish a book this year about his tenure. During the war, sparked by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, UNRWA temporarily took on a larger role coordinating the entry and distribution of aid into the besieged Palestinian territory. Israel's attacks on the agency neutered that role, banning UNRWA international staff and humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.
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