UN says entire generation in Gaza would lose education if UNRWA collapses | Israeli-Palestinian conflict News

UNRWA chief has warned that new Israeli law threatens the education of 660,000 Gaza students and risks extremism and marginalization.

An entire generation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will be “deprived of their right to education” if the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) collapses in the region under new Israeli legislation, the head of the agency has warned.

The Israeli parliament last week passed two controversial bills banning UNRWA from operating in Israeli territory and closing its offices in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, including East Jerusalem.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said that the implementation of the law, which will come into force at the end of January, “will have disastrous consequences”.

“It is clear that education is missing from discussions on Gaza without UNRWA,” Lazzarini told a UN General Assembly committee on Wednesday.

“In the absence of a capable public administration or state, only UNRWA can educate the more than 660,000 boys and girls in Gaza. “In the absence of UNRWA, an entire generation will be stripped of their right to education,” he said, warning that this would “sow the seeds of marginalization and extremism.”

It once again forced UN member states to take action to block the implementation of Israeli legislation.

The UN agency provides education, health and other basic services to Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation and their descendants, who now number about six million. Refugee families make up the majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million population.

Aid groups have warned that Israel’s ban on UNRWA could create further obstacles to resolving the serious humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel said other UN agencies and aid groups could fill the gap, but those organizations insisted UNRWA was necessary.

Israel’s ally, the United States, has described UNRWA’s role in Gaza as “indispensable”. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Tuesday that it was urgent for Israel to halt enforcement of the law.

The law is expected to come into force just days after US President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated for his second four-year term. Some observers expect Trump to take a strong pro-Israel approach to the Middle East region, going beyond President Joe Biden’s solid support.

The UN Security Council supported UNRWA and “strongly warned against any attempt to dismantle or reduce” it.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Israel that it would be Israel’s responsibility as the occupying power to replace UNRWA in Gaza and the West Bank. The UN considers Gaza and the West Bank to be Israeli-occupied territory.

Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters after Lazzarini’s briefing, “We left Gaza completely in 2005. We cut off the connection and gave the keys to the Palestinian Authority.”

“Now we are in a war after being attacked and we are acting according to international law; “That’s why we provide humanitarian support and cooperate with many UN agencies.” “We are ready to cooperate, but not with terrorists.”

In January, Israel accused dozens of UNRWA staff of taking part in the Hamas-led October 7 attack in which more than 1,100 people were killed and about 250 captured by Palestinian armed groups.

Israel responded to the attack by launching its ongoing assault on Gaza, killing at least 43,712 people and wounding 103,258, according to Palestinian officials.

UN launched an investigation into Israel’s claims In conclusion Regarding the termination of the contracts of the nine staff, “the evidence – if corroborated and corroborated – may indicate that UNRWA staff may have been involved in the attack”.

In July, Israel claimed that another 100 UNRWA staff were members of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups. The agency asked Israel to provide more information to take action. UNRWA told Al Jazeera last week it had yet to receive a response.