The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) has urged Gulf states to give a fraction of the money mentioned in US President Donald Trump’s ‘mega deals’ to Palestinian refugees struggling to survive in the occupied Palestinian territories and neighbouring countries.
Philippe Lazzarini told Middle East Eye that Unrwa, the largest humanitarian provider for approximately six million Palestinian refugees, is currently operating with a “negative cash flow,” and the shortage of funds may force him to take “a difficult decision” as US funding remains suspended.
“We are confronted with a very severe financial crisis, which, if it persists in the near future, will force me to take a difficult and painful decision,” he told MEE’s upcoming episode of Expert Witness podcast.
“Because if we have no resources, we cannot pay the staff. We might be confronted with a situation where the money is not available any more, even to process our salaries. And if that is the case, the agency will be forced to look at what services among the critical services are more critical than others.”
Unrwa, whose staff members are mostly Palestinian refugees, has been at the receiving end of Israeli attacks since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023. At least 310 of its employees have been killed by the Israeli army over the past 19 months and over 80 percent of its premises have been destroyed.
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In January last year, 18 states suspended their funding to Unrwa pending investigations into alleged Hamas links. However, by July, all states except for the US reinstated their funding after a UN inquiry found no evidence of wrongdoing by Unrwa staff.
So far, no country has stepped in to compensate the agency for the lack of US funding, said Lazzarini.
He called on Gulf Arab states to dedicate more funding for Unrwa, saying he wished the multi-billion dollar deals with Donald Trump in his latest Gulf tour included pledges for Palestinian refugees.
‘We are at a crossroad. If financially we have no resource any more, there is a risk that the agency implodes’
– Philippe Lazzarini, Unrwa chief
Trump’s Middle East trip, which included stops in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), resulted in deals worth over $700bn, with the White House claiming that $2 trillion worth of deals have been agreed.
“I wish a trickle of all these trillions of dollars committed would also come for the Palestinian refugees,” Lazzarini told MEE.
Prior to the latest funding suspension, according to pledges for Unrwa as of 31 December 2023, the US was the top confirmed donor with $422 million, followed by Germany ($212.8m), the European Union ($120.165m), France ($62.42m), Sweden ($48.8m), Japan ($48.5m), Norway ($45.7m), the Netherlands ($40.7m), Canada ($39.3m), and the UK ($36.8m).
Saudi Arabia was ranked 17 among donors, with a pledge of $17m, while the UAE pledged $15m, and Turkey $22.1m.
Prior to the 2024 decision, Trump suspended funding for Unrwa during his previous presidency in 2018, and part of the funding was resumed in 2021 under the Joe Biden administration.
Lazzarini said that Arab states have yet to provide funding for 2025. He called on them to invest in the agency while taking part in efforts to establish a functioning Palestinian state.
“We got support last year from the Arab countries. This year we are still waiting for what the decision will be.
“We have reassurances from Arab countries that their contribution will continue and that they will step in. But today, we are almost at the end of May. I still do not have the necessary clarity to know what this contribution will be.”
Unrwa may ‘implode’
Lazzarini addressed the Arab world and other UN member states, saying that salvaging Unrwa requires a political will.
“We are at a crossroad. If financially we have no resource any more, there is a risk that the agency implodes. And if it implodes, that means in Gaza or in the West Bank – where the situation is already difficult, chaotic, distressful – that will mean more distress, more despair,” he said.
“Anyone can imagine what it would mean if an agency like ours would leave a vacuum behind us, but it would also send shockwaves in the neighbouring countries, all of them have their own internal dynamics to deal with, or internal fragilities.”
The commissioner-general added, however, that Unrwa has enjoyed growing support from global civil society and private donors over the past year.
“Last year and this year, we have reached record fundraising when it comes to individual and private donors,” he said, adding that a number of states from the Global South have pledged to contribute to the agency for the first time in a show of solidarity after Western defunding.
“But this is not compensating for the shortfall left behind by the withdrawal of the United States.”
For Lazzarini, who is the 11th head of the agency, Unrwa must be part of any future plan for Palestinian statehood, with a view to end its mandate once a functioning Palestinian state is in place.
“I would like the agency to end its mandate by being part of a solution, rather than to be confronted with a situation where we are just imploding and collapsing.”
Lazzarini said he is in contact with Saudi Arabia concerning funding for 2025. But so far, no pledges have been confirmed.
He explained that it was Saudi Arabia, the co-chair of the Global Alliance for the I fmplementation of the Two-State Solution, that brought Unrwa into conversations with world leaders to discuss plans to gradually merge Unrwa’s human development work with a future Palestinian state.
“There is an awareness about the importance of supporting the agency,” he said.
Unrwa was established by the UN as a subsidiary organisation in 1949, after the Arab-Israeli war that erupted following the creation of the state of Israel the previous year.
In 1950, Unrwa was responsible for an estimated 750,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes amid violence by Zionist groups – an event commemorated as the Nakba, Arabic for “catastrophe”.
Today, there are 5.8 million Palestinian refugees registered by Unrwa, living in dozens of camps in the occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
Most of Unrwa’s budget is dedicated to the provision of education, followed by healthcare, support services, relief and social services, and infrastructure and camp improvement.
Unrwa ban
Following allegations of Hamas links against 12 members of Unrwa staff, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed two laws in October 2024 banning Unrwa from operating inside Israel and occupied Palestine.
The first law says that Unrwa is not allowed to “operate any institution, provide any service, or conduct any activity, whether directly or indirectly”, in Israel, including occupied East Jerusalem, which Israel considers part of its sovereign territory.
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The second law prohibits Israeli government officials and agencies from contact with Unrwa.
This one is a consequence of the first law and is concerned more with operations in the West Bank and Gaza, explained Lazzarini.
The laws effectively ban Unrwa from operating inside Israel, Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel has since closed six schools operated by Unrwa in occupied East Jerusalem.
According to Lazzarini, the closure of East Jerusalem schools earlier this month, in accordance with the first Israeli law, has impacted 550 students. It took place two months before the end of the school year, without an alternative offer to students.
“Most likely, [Palestinian students] will just lose their entire school year because of such a decision,” Lazzarini told MEE.
Concerning the impact of the second law, Lazzarini said the no-contact policy effectively led to a halt in issuing visas to Unrwa’s international staff.
However, the organisation continues to provide public services, including education and primary health, in the West Bank and Gaza.
In Gaza, Lazzarini said the organisation continues to operate with its remaining 12,000 staff despite the sustained Israeli attacks.
“Our staff are sharing the fate of the population in Gaza,” he said.
“Somehow, we function in the absence of a ministry of education or primary health for the Palestinian refugees.
“So our schools in the West Bank are still open. We are providing education to more than 50,000 students. And our primary health system is also functioning.”
The ban on Unrwa has triggered an ongoing case before the International Court of Justice, where states are asking the court to rule on Israel’s obligations under international law to respect the immunities and privileges of UN agencies and to ensure the provision of humanitarian aid to the population under its occupation.
In its intervention before the court, the UK testified that Unrwa is “impartial and neutral” and argued that Israel’s ban on the organisation was unjustifiable.
