Brussels, 17 March 2025
Distinguished Chairs,
Members of the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Development,
Thank you for the invitation to brief you.
Since we last met, UNRWA's operations have been undermined further, with implications for regional, and international, peace and stability.
I echo the Secretary-General's call at the Arab Summit in Cairo, for the immediate, unconditional and dignified release of all hostages; the dignified release of Palestinian detainees; and the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
During the summit, Arab States rejected the forced displacement of Palestinians; reaffirmed their commitment to a two-State solution; and approved a plan for the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza.
The Cairo Declaration also reaffirms the essential role of UNRWA.
This is a recognition that the Agency is an asset for a viable political transition.
Distinguished Chairs,
UNRWA is facing significant operational challenges due to the Knesset laws, condemned by the European Union and Arab States.
One law prohibits UNRWA's operations in what the Government of Israel considers its "sovereign territory" - this includes occupied East Jerusalem.
The other law prohibits contact between UNRWA representatives and Israeli officials.
We were compelled to evacuate our headquarters compound in occupied East Jerusalem.
The lack of visas has effectively expelled international staff from the occupied West Bank.
It is only thanks to the dedication of our Palestinian staff that UNRWA schools and health clinics remain open, providing essential services to Palestine Refugees.
In Gaza, a core team of international staff remains, but Israel no longer facilitates their entry or exit via Kerem Shalom.
We have asked Egypt if international staff can enter and exit via Rafah.
UNRWA is committed to staying and delivering its mandate until we can no longer do so in a principled manner.
Members of the Committees,
The ceasefire brought much needed respite after 15 months of brutal warfare.
It enabled the return of hostages and Palestinian detainees to their families, and a 10-fold increase in the flow of humanitarian aid.
This shows what is possible when there is a political will.
It is, however, highly concerning that humanitarian aid is no longer allowed into Gaza, endangering civilian lives.
During the war, UNRWA provided a platform for all humanitarian assistance.
Since the ceasefire, we have significantly scaled up our response, providing food to two million people, and clean water to nearly half a million.
We have opened nearly 40 new emergency shelters and provided tents for more than 60,000 people.
We provide some 17,000 medical consultations every day.
Nearly 2,000 UNRWA personnel vaccinated an estimated 200,000 children in the latest campaign against polio.
UNRWA is also resuming education for as many children as possible through temporary learning spaces and remote learning activities.
The appetite for learning is huge - more than 260,000 children are registered on the Agency's online learning platform.
Curtailing UNRWA's operations now - when needs are so high, and trust in the international community is so low - is counterproductive.
It may even sabotage Gaza's recovery and plans for a political transition.
Distinguished Chairs,
The violence in the occupied West Bank is alarming.
Since January, nearly 40,000 Palestine Refugees have been displaced by air strikes, armored bulldozers and controlled detonations.
This is the longest security operation since the Second Intifada and the largest displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967.
The large-scale demolition of buildings, including homes, is new.
People cannot return, and the demography of camps is being permanently altered.
Palestinian armed groups are increasingly active in the north, deploying improvised explosive devices, including near UNRWA facilities and civilian infrastructure, in violation of international law.
Members of the Committees,
This is a time of tremendous geopolitical uncertainty.
For UNRWA, the status quo is no longer an option.
There is a choice to make.
The Agency can be left to implode due to the Knesset legislation and financial uncertainties.
UNRWA's collapse would create a dangerous vacuum in the occupied Palestinian territory, in the absence of alternatives.
It would send shockwaves through Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, where the Agency is a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of Palestine Refugees.
An environment in which children are deprived of education, and people lack access to basic services, is fertile ground for exploitation and extremism.
Alternatively, UNRWA can be supported to progressively conclude its mandate within the framework of a political process like that championed by the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.
This would allow the Agency to transition its public-like services to empowered and prepared Palestinian institutions.
Distinguished Chairs,
I must stress that the rights of Palestine Refugees to protection and assistance are not derived from UNRWA's mandate.
They exist independently of the Agency.
If UNRWA ceases to protect and assist Palestine Refugees, their rights will remain, and there will be much greater emphasis on the right to return or to be resettled, for which UNRWA has no mandate.
Members of the Committees,
I must underscore UNRWA's longstanding commitment to neutrality.
Following grave allegations last year that 19 UNRWA personnel participated in the abhorrent attacks of October 7, I immediately terminated their contracts.
The Secretary-General swiftly tasked the United Nations' highest investigative body - the Office of Internal Oversight Services - to conduct an independent investigation.
He also commissioned an independent review of UNRWA's adherence to the principle of neutrality.
The Colonna Report found that UNRWA has the most robust neutrality framework of any comparable entity.
It also stressed that UNRWA, like all UN agencies, depends on Member States, including Israel, for protection from military and security-related neutrality risks.
We will continue making every effort to investigate credible allegations against the Agency and its personnel.
We recently learnt from the media about allegations that a released hostage was held at an UNRWA facility.
We requested additional information from Israel but have not received a response.
I must reiterate that UNRWA was forced to evacuate many of its 300 premises in Gaza on IDF military orders.
Our premises have been misused by both the Israeli Forces and Palestinian armed groups on multiple occasions.
I have repeatedly called for an international investigation to establish the facts and hold all perpetrators accountable.
Last year, following close engagement with the European Commission, UNRWA agreed and fulfilled conditions for releasing EU funds and reinforcing the Agency's neutrality framework.
UNRWA has enhanced the vetting of staff, reinforced its internal investigation department, and undergone an audit commissioned by the European Commission.
As a result, all EU contributions for 2024 were released, including additional funding requested by this Parliament.
I am deeply, deeply grateful for the continued support of this House.
Distinguished Chairs,
I must also address the disinformation campaign portraying UNRWA as a terrorist organisation, and our staff as terrorists or terrorist sympathizers.
Billboards and ads accusing UNRWA of terrorism have appeared in major cities.
Google ad campaigns promote websites replete with disinformation about the Agency.
Disinformation poses a real threat to our staff, especially those in the occupied West Bank and in Gaza - where 275 personnel have been killed.
To tackle disinformation, we must insist that independent, international media can enter and report from Gaza.
Members of the Committees,
UNRWA's financial situation is dire.
We have placed more than 600 local staff on Leave Without Pay.
We may have to suspend payments to more staff and scale back critical services.
An erosion of UNRWA operations will degrade the capacity of the United Nations.
