For Palestinian refugees, the ban on UNRWA in Israel, voted by the Israeli Parliament on Monday, is a new affront. In the Qalandiya refugee camp, in the occupied West Bank, the two laws paralyzing the UN aid agency are in every conversation and have the effect of a cold shower.
“Without UNRWA, no one can live a decent life,” laments Ahmad Abu Shehadeh, 67, who spent thirty years of his life teaching in the camp, stuck between what he calls the apartheid wall and the checkpoint of the same name.
When it was created, UNRWA’s mission was to help the 750,000 Palestinian refugees expelled from their lands during the Nakba, when the State of Israel was created in 1948, while it took time to find a solution. But with no prospects, the agency’s mandate was subsequently renewed and the number of refugees multiplied eightfold, reaching nearly 6 million.
For some, this ban is nothing more than “collective punishment”. “We are affecting much more than just UNRWA services. The objective is to put even more pressure on us and continue the displacement of the Palestinian people,” analyzes Khaled, a resident of the camp.
>> La Matinale’s report in the Qalandiya camp:
UNRWA, a “lifeline”
These Palestinians think first and foremost of Gaza, where the consequences will be most serious. According to Nahed, a French teacher living in Khan Younès, south of the enclave, “UNRWA is the lifeline of the Palestinians.” “Who will distribute flour and basic products to us as immigrants?” she asks, worried.
The UN agency runs more than 700 schools for refugee children and 140 health centers where free care is provided. It is also trying to ensure the distribution of vital food aid, despite the humanitarian blockades imposed by Israel. The organization has gained the trust of Gazans over time, unlike other structures. “We do not trust traders and private institutions, because they sell aid instead of distributing it,” notes Nahed.
By obstructing UNRWA operations, instead of facilitating them, Israel is once again attacking international law.
