New York
This morning, I briefed the Security Council in a closed session.
I welcomed the ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza.
I joined the Secretary-General in calling on all parties to ensure the deal is fully implemented.
We need rapid, unhindered and uninterrupted humanitarian access to respond to the tremendous suffering in Gaza.
A ceasefire is only a starting point.
UNRWA is ready to support the international response by scaling up aid delivery.
We are ready to support the recovery of Gaza by resuming education and continuing to provide primary healthcare.
I warned that in less than two weeks, the Knesset legislation to end UNRWA's operations in the oPt will enter into force.
Full implementation will be catastrophic.
In Gaza, it will massively weaken the international humanitarian response.
This will immeasurably worsen already catastrophic living conditions.
The Government of Israel claims that UNRWA's services can be transferred to other entities.
In fact, the Agency's mandate and capacity to provide public-like services to an entire population are unique.
UNRWA's ability to directly provide education and primary healthcare far exceeds that of any other entity.
These services can only be transferred to a functioning State.
UNRWA's personnel and services are also tightly woven into the social fabric of Gaza.
The disintegration of the Agency will intensify the breakdown of social order.
Dismantling UNRWA now, outside a political process, will undermine the ceasefire agreement and sabotage Gaza's recovery and political transition.
In the West Bank, the PA has stated clearly that it does not have the financial resources or capacity to compensate for the loss of UNRWA's services.
A chaotic dismantling of UNRWA will irreversibly harm the lives and future of Palestinians.
It will obliterate their trust in the international community and any solution it attempts to facilitate.
I reminded the Council of the fierce, global disinformation campaign against the Agency.
Intense diplomatic lobbying by the Government of Israel and affiliates has targeted parliaments and governments in top donor countries.
Billboards and ads accusing UNRWA of terrorism recently appeared in several cities, including New York.
They were paid for by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel.
Google ad campaigns re-direct people seeking information about the Agency to disinformation websites.
This propaganda endangers our staff in the occupied West Bank and in Gaza - where 269 colleagues have already been killed.
It creates a permissive environment for the harassment of our representatives in Europe and the US.
This year, the Israeli Foreign Ministry received a funding boost of 150 million dollars for such propaganda - approximately a sixth of UNRWA's annual operating budget.
A ceasefire in Gaza must be followed by a political transition that includes an orderly conclusion of UNRWA's mandate and the handover of its public-like services to empowered Palestinian institutions.
This is the path now pursued by the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, led by Saudi Arabia, the EU and the League of Arab States.
A clear choice lies before us:
- We can allow UNRWA to implode because of the Knesset legislation and the suspension of funding by key donors.
- Or we can allow the Agency to progressively conclude its mandate within a political framework.
The Agency is working closely with government authorities in Ramallah on how to meet education and healthcare needs in the oPt.
UNRWA is the largest provider of primary healthcare in Gaza, where we still conduct approximately 17,000 medical consultations per day.
We are the second-largest healthcare provider in the West Bank.
Our health services and expertise are essential for building a strong national health system.
UNRWA also has a pivotal role to play in education.
In Gaza today, 650,000 girls and boys are living in the rubble.
Absent a full-fledged State, only UNRWA has the capacity to bring them back to learning.
If we fail to resume education in Gaza, and to preserve it in the occupied West Bank, we will sacrifice an entire generation of Palestinian children.
This will have profound consequences for the future of the Palestinian people, and a Palestinian State.
It is critical that the efforts to dismantle UNRWA are not compounded by the Agency's financial instability.
This is now a major risk as some key donors have decided to end or reduce their voluntary contributions to the Agency.
I appealed for an urgent increase in financial support to UNRWA, the early disbursement of allocated funds, and a review of any funding currently on hold.
I asked Council members to avert a looming peace and security crisis.
- To prevent the implementation of the Knesset legislation - the Agency's personnel and services are integral to the success of the ceasefire.
- To insist on a political path forward and clearly delineate UNRWA's role as a provider of essential services, especially education and healthcare.
- To ensure that a financial crisis does not abruptly end the Agency's lifesaving work.
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UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency's area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.
UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Tens of thousands of Palestine refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 conflict continue to be displaced and in need of support, nearly 75 years on.
UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.
