Palestinian refugees in Lebanon protest against UNRWA funding cuts

Palestinian women take part in a protest against the suspension of UNRWA funding by some Western states, in front of the United Nations Palestinian aid agency UNRWA’s building in Beirut on Jan. 30, 2024. (Reuters)

• Halting support for UN agency will be ‘disastrous,’ Palestinian leader says
• ‘What is happening is extremely dangerous,’ observer says

BEIRUT: Palestinian refugees in Tyre, southern Lebanon, on Friday staged a protest outside UNRWA’s office to protest against the agency’s announcement that due to the suspension of its funding it may have to close its operations in the region by the end of the month.
Several countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, France and Germany, halted their financial support for the UN agency following allegations that several of its employees were involved in the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7.
Ayham Al-Sahli, a journalist familiar with the situation in Lebanon, said: “What is happening is extremely dangerous. Not only is this collective punishment, but its goal is to erase the sole witness to the Palestinian refugee cause.
“This matter has been raised before. Assuming that 12 UNRWA employees participated in the Oct. 7 attack, which has not yet been confirmed, should all refugees be punished? By what logic does this apply?”
Al-Sahli, who is also a member of the Institute for Palestine Studies in Beirut, continued: “UNRWA’s budget in Lebanon is $160 million annually, through which the agency provides the minimum services to refugees.
“This includes education for all Palestinian students in Lebanon who receive their education in the agency’s schools, medical services and employee salaries. If there is a 70 percent cut in this budget, all services will shrink and in return Lebanon’s services to Palestinian refugees will be zero.”
Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu renewed his call to “end the agency’s mandate and replace it with other UN-affiliated or non-UN aid agencies.”
UNRWA is the only agency in charge of Palestinian refugee affairs. As well as dealing with relief aid and employment issues, it handles the rehabilitation of the camps’ infrastructure and provides community support.
Ghassan Ayoub, a Palestinian leader in the Ain Al-Helweh camp, said: “Lebanon is facing a severe economic crisis and is unable to provide health and education services to its citizens, so how is it going to provide services to Palestinian refugees?
“The presence of UNRWA is a stabilizing factor in refugee camps and the instability of this factor will have serious repercussions.
“If funding is discontinued, the situation will be disastrous on the humanitarian, social and living levels.”
He continued: “There are over 4,000 employees at UNRWA in Lebanon, as well as others who work in certain programs, including a program funded by Germany called Cash for Work, which has been employing refugees for four years. All these programs are carried out through UNRWA. What will happen to these people? They’ll be left without relief, health or work.”
UNRWA was established in 1949 to help about 6 million Palestinian refugees scattered between Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Ayoub said: “Despite the political goal, which is settling the issue of return, the commission doesn’t provide any services to refugees. It is in charge of resettling or arranging the refugees’ status where they are. Do they want to resettle Palestinians in a third country?”