UNRWA Chief Lazzarini Remarks to Press

GENEVA, checked against delivery

It has been almost 10 days since the State of Israel banned the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies into the Gaza Strip.

Somehow a situation similar to the one which prevailed in October 2023. This decision threatens the lives and survival of civilians in Gaza, who have had only a brief respite from 16 months of brutal war.

The ceasefire agreement has shown that whenever there is a political will, humanitarian assistance can be unhindered and un-interrupted. Between the beginning of the cease fire and 2 March, humanitarian assistance has increased 10 folds.

It is critical that humanitarian aid is allowed into Gaza again, to maintain the progress made during the first phase of the ceasefire and meet people's basic needs.

I echo the call of the Secretary General for the immediate, unconditional, and dignified release of all hostages, the dignified release of Palestinian detainees as previously agreed, and for the ceasefire to hold.

It is important also to shed light on the situation in the West Bank. In the West Bank the operation by the Israeli Security Forces, which started six weeks ago, is severely impacting Palestinians, especially in the north. Palestinian armed groups are also increasingly active in the area.

Several refugee camps have been nearly emptied, displacing around 40,000 Palestine Refugees.

This is the largest displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967.

The large-scale demolition of buildings, including residential areas is alarming. People have nowhere to return to.

UNRWA continues to track displaced people and provide humanitarian aid, including food, healthcare and basic items.

In Syria, we have witnessed over the last few days terrible violence. One of our staff was also tragically caught up in the crossfire. We continue, in the country, to provide healthcare and education, which for many Palestine Refugees are absolutely essential to their survival.

In Lebanon, socioeconomic crises have increased the reliance of Palestine Refugees on UNRWA services. We just did a survey, and we have seen that the UNRWA cash assistance to Palestine Refugees has become one of the main sources of income for 70 percent of Palestine Refugees in the country.

Now, about the Knesset laws. The Knesset legislation I briefed the Member States on is not just about UNRWA. This is about any individual or organisation calling for adherence to international humanitarian law or promoting the rights of Palestinians.

While a number of International NGOs have already been silenced, there is now a larger, concerted effort in Israel to undermine, or restrict through legislative measures, the operations of international organisations and NGOs.

The Agency has faced serious operational challenges since the Israeli parliament's anti-UNRWA legislation came into force at the end of January.

In occupied East Jerusalem, the Agency is facing increased pressure from the municipality to vacate premises and end service provision.

International staff have been effectively expelled from the occupied West Bank due to the lack of valid visas.

While some international staff remain in Gaza, Israel refuses to facilitate their entry or exit via Kerem Shalom.

Despite these challenges, UNRWA will stay and deliver its General Assembly mandate until it is no longer possible to do so in a principled manner.

For example:

• Since the ceasefire began in Gaza, UNRWA has provided food to 2 million people, opened nearly 40 new emergency shelters, and provided over 60,000 people with tents.
• UNRWA health teams supported the polio vaccination campaign last month reaching nearly 200,000 children below the age of 10.
• Through temporary learning spaces and remote learning, UNRWA is reaching children with education. As an anecdote we have opened registration for distance learning for the children in Gaza at the beginning of January. Three weeks later we had more than 250,000 children having registered. Today, 70 per cent of them are having distance learning through the digital platform.
• In the West Bank, nearly 50,000 children go to the Agency's schools and hundreds of thousands of people rely on our health services.

I must highlight again the disinformation campaign portraying the Agency as a terrorist organisation, and our staff as terrorists or terrorist sympathizers.

I do believe that, talking to an audience of journalists, checking facts and reporting through firsthand, official sources is the foundation of independent reporting and key to countering this vicious campaign.

This is especially critical given the prolonged ban on independent, international media in Gaza.   There has been no independent international media in Gaza since October 2023.

I continue to urge you - the international media - to do more to get into Gaza to cover untold stories and verify information.  I asked the same to Member States: to help journalists to get access into Gaza.

On funding, UNRWA's financial situation - you would be surprised should I tell you that everything is under control - is critical and precarious.  Cashflow is managed monthly, and we urgently require additional financial support if the Agency is to survive.

To conclude, this is a time of tremendous geopolitical uncertainty.

For UNRWA, the status quo is no longer an option. We have a choice to make.

We can allow the Agency to implode due to the fierce disinformation campaign; the Knesset legislation; and the suspension of funding by key donors.

• Collapse would create a dangerous vacuum in the occupied Palestinian territory and send shockwaves through Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
• An environment in which children are deprived of education, and people lack access to basic services, is fertile ground for exploitation and extremism.
• This is a threat to peace and stability in the region and beyond.

Alternatively, UNRWA can be supported to progressively conclude its mandate within the framework of a political process like that championed by Saudi Arabia, the European Union, and the League of Arab States through the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.

The Agency, would this be the case, would then gradually transition its public-like services to empowered and prepared Palestinian institutions.

This would preserve the rights of Palestine Refugees and their access to basic services.

I have also repeatedly stressed that dismantling the Agency abruptly will only deepen the suffering of Palestine Refugees, but it will not cancel their refugee status.  The rights of Palestine Refugees exist independently of the Agency. 

If UNRWA ceases to protect and assist Palestine Refugees, their rights will not only remain, but there will be much greater emphasis on the right to return or to be resettled, for which UNRWA has no mandate.

So, to conclude, the main ask to Member States has been: sustain UNRWA until the political direction of travel is clear. That is, until the international community considers the political pathway proposed by Arab States through the recovery and reconstruction plan outlined in the Cairo Declaration, and the proposal of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.

Thank you.