Gaza – Media advisor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Adnan Abu Hasna, said that the recent statements of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in which he said that the international organization would not be able to play any role in the Gaza Strip are not new, and come within the framework of American positions on the UN organization.
Abu Hasna explained, in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Net, that the United States’ rejection of UNRWA’s work was taken after President Donald Trump won his first term, which began in January 2018 when he cut off his country’s funding for the international agency, and then President Joe Biden restored it before Trump decided to stop it again when he entered the White House at the beginning of this year.
The United States contribution is estimated at between 25% and 30% of the total UNRWA budget, and the total American contribution to the international organization since its founding exceeds $7 billion.
Deny the allegations
Abu Hasna stressed that the US Secretary of State’s latest position has no practical relation to what UNRWA is doing or what is related to its neutrality and transparency, especially since the International Court of Justice recognized only two days ago that the UNRWA is a neutral and transparent organization committed to the laws and regulations of the United Nations, and no penetration of it by Palestinian organizations has been achieved as Israel claims.
Last Wednesday, the International Court of Justice confirmed that there is no evidence that UNRWA violates the principle of neutrality or practices discrimination in distributing aid in the occupied Palestinian territories, as Israel has repeatedly claimed.
The court stressed that Israel is obligated to facilitate the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip, especially that provided by UNRWA. Despite this decision, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted a government official as saying that Israel does not intend to allow the UN to return to work in the Gaza Strip.
Commenting on this, Abu Hasna stressed that UNRWA is not an Israeli governmental association, but rather has its mandate from the United Nations General Assembly and carries out its duties accordingly.
Continuation of services
Although the Israeli decision to ban the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees took effect in January 2025, it continues its work in the Gaza Strip through 12,000 employees, says Abu Hasna.
About 300,000 students attend UNRWA schools, whether regularly or remotely, followed by 8,000 teachers in all governorates of the Strip.
Since October 7, 2023, UNRWA has recorded more than 10 million medical visits to its health centers inside the Gaza Strip, under the supervision of 1,300 employees in the health sector, while hundreds of employees work in distributing food supplies.
The UNRWA media advisor stressed that all the proposals that called for replacing the UN organization had not succeeded, and this was clear when the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation failed, he said.
Abu Hasna believes that all attempts that go beyond UNRWA will not be successful because it is the one that possesses complete data on the refugees and residents of the Gaza Strip, and has the logistical capabilities, employees, and places from which it can work.
He added that only the United Nations General Assembly is responsible for UNRWA, whether continuing its work or terminating its mandate, and whoever wants to change the nature of its work should go to the General Assembly, which has an appointment next December to renew its mandate. Otherwise, UNRWA will continue its work.
Disastrous consequences
The UNRWA media advisor warned that stopping UNRWA services in the Gaza Strip would have disastrous results because it provides its services to the Palestinians in the fields of health, education, solid waste and water collection, supervision of shelter and psychological support centers, and food distribution.
Abu Hasna pointed out that stopping all these services means cutting off the lifeline for the Palestinians and sentencing them to death.
He pointed out that the UNRWA is currently continuing all its services except the distribution of humanitarian aid because Israel is preventing the entry of 6,000 UNRWA trucks waiting in front of the Gaza crossings, loaded with food supplies sufficient for the residents of the Strip for three months, and containing quantities of medicines, blankets, and tents sufficient for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
The Israeli obstacles against UNRWA reached the point of preventing international employees from entering the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, including the Commissioner-General of the international organization and the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The occupation forces also closed 6 UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem.
In order to confront the obstacles facing UNRWA, Abu Hasna stressed that there are movements, communications and pressure exerted by UNRWA at the legal, political and media levels in order for Israel to respect the advisory opinion issued by the Supreme Court of Justice.
Abu Hasna pointed out that there are two committees to verify the work of UNRWA, one of them headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colon, and the other from the United Nations Internal Oversight Office.
The two committees affirmed the neutrality of the international organization and its commitment to the laws and charters of the United Nations, and there is no room for the claim that it was infiltrated by Palestinian organizations.
Recovery plans
With the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees developed comprehensive plans related to the educational process, and students were returned by expanding pre-face education by creating spaces to accommodate 10,000 students.
In the health sector, UNRWA is trying to restore health centers to health, and has opened mobile medical points that receive approximately 17,000 patients daily, after the relief agency had 22 health centers, according to Abu Hasna.
UNRWA continues its psychological support programs for the residents of the Gaza Strip through hundreds of workers in this field, and the media advisor also indicates the continuation of collecting waste in various areas, distributing water, and managing shelter centers.