What is UNRWA?
UNRWA stands for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. It was created after a big event called the Nakba, and its main job is to help Palestinian refugees who had to leave their homes before 1967. There are more than 5.5 million Palestinian refugees that rely on UNRWA for support.
What Does UNRWA Do?
UNRWA focuses on five important things: education, health, support, relief, and infrastructure. They use their budget to provide schools, healthcare, and other essential services to Palestinian refugees in different parts of the world, like Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and more.
The Campaign Against UNRWA
Israel has been accusing UNRWA of some serious things. They claim that some people working for UNRWA have joined groups that are against Israel, and they say that these groups are even using UNRWA's buildings and schools for their activities.
Because of these accusations, Israel started a campaign to stop funding UNRWA. Some other countries that used to fund UNRWA also decided to stop funding them. This means that UNRWA lost about 56% of its total budget, which is a lot of money!
Why Did Countries Stop Funding UNRWA?
It's important to note that these countries stopped funding UNRWA even before any official investigation took place. They made this decision right after the International Court of Justice told Israel to let relief materials enter the Gaza Strip. So, it seems like these countries were not happy with what was happening and decided to take action.
What Does This Mean for Palestinian Refugees?
With the loss of funding, UNRWA is facing some big challenges. They might not have enough money to provide the same level of support to Palestinian refugees as before. This could affect things like education, healthcare, and other important services that these refugees rely on.
What Are People Saying?
Some people are speaking up about this situation. The United Nations rapporteur on the right to housing said that stopping funding for UNRWA is like punishing all the people living in the Gaza Strip. He believes that it's not fair to punish everyone because of the actions of a few individuals in the agency.
On the other side, the Hamas movement, which is a Palestinian group, denounced the threats made by Israel against UNRWA and other international organizations. They are calling on the United Nations and other international institutions to not give in to Israel's threats and blackmail.
So, the campaign against UNRWA is causing some big changes and challenges for Palestinian refugees.
Source: Al Jazeera
