GENEVA: The UNRWA chief warned Thursday that if the embattled UN agency for Palestinian refugees were to collapse, it would deprive a generation of children of education, “sowing the seeds for more extremism.”
Pointing to a dire funding situation, Philippe Lazzarini warned of “the real risk of the agency collapsing and imploding.”
If that were to happen, he told AFP, “we would definitely sacrifice a generation of kids, who would be deprived from proper education.”
For more than seven decades, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has provided essential aid, assistance and services like education and health care to Palestinian refugees.
Lazzarini has described the organization as “a lifeline” for nearly six million Palestinian refugees under its charge, across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
But UNRWA has long been a lightning rod for harsh Israeli criticism, which ramped up dramatically after Hamas’s deadly attack in Israel on October 7, 2023 sparked the devastating war in Gaza.
Israel’s allegation early last year that some UNRWA staff took part in that attack spurred a string of nations to at least temporarily halt their backing for the already cash-strapped agency.
And earlier this year, Israel opted to sever ties with UNRWA, banning it from operating on Israeli soil.
While it can still operate in Gaza and the West Bank, it has been barred from contact with Israeli officials, making it difficult to coordinate the safe delivery of aid in the Palestinian territories.
Israel has argued that UNRWA can be replaced by other UN agencies or NGOs.
Lazzarini acknowledged earlier this week that if the only objective is to “bring trucks into Gaza” to address the humanitarian crisis caused by the war, others could step in.
But he stressed that UNRWA’s role was far broader.
“We are primarily providing government-like services,” he told AFP.
“So I don’t see any NGO or UN agencies all of a sudden stepping into the provision of public-like services.”
He cautioned that the loss of UNRWA’s education services could have particularly dire consequences.
“If you deprive 100,000 girls and boys in Gaza, for example, (of an) education, and if they have no future, and if their school is just despair and living in the rubble, I would say we are just sowing the seeds for more extremism,” he warned.
“I think this is a recipe for disaster.”
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UNRWA collapse would doom generation of Palestinian children: agency chief
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UNRWA collapse would doom generation of Palestinian children: agency chief
- For more than seven decades, the UNRWA has provided essential aid, assistance and services like education and health care to Palestinian refugees
- Israel has opted to sever ties with UNRWA, banning it from operating on Israeli soil, arguing that UNRWA can be replaced by other UN agencies or NGOs
Iraq negotiates new coalition under US pressure
BAGHDAD: More than a month after Iraq’s parliamentary elections, the country’s top leaders remain locked in talks to form a government while facing pressure from Washington to exclude Tehran-backed armed groups.
Amid seismic changes in the Middle East, where new alliances are forming and old powers waning, Iraqi leaders face a daunting task: navigating relations with US-blacklisted pro-Iranian factions.
- What does the US want? -
The US has held significant sway over Iraqi politics since leading the 2003 invasion that ousted long-time ruler Saddam Hussein.
But another spectre also haunts Iraq’s halls of power: Washington’s arch-foe, Iran.
Iraq has long been caught between the two, with successive governments negotiating a delicate balance.
Now, after November’s election, Washington has demanded the eventual government must exclude Iran-backed armed groups and instead move to dismantle them, Iraqi officials and diplomats told AFP.
A State Department spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Iraqi leaders well know what is and is not compatible with a strong US-Iraq partnership.”
Washington, the spokesperson said, “will continue to speak plainly to the urgency of dismantling Iran-backed militias.”
But some of these groups have increased their presence in the new chamber and have joined the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shiite parties with varying ties to Iran and which holds the majority.
For weeks, the Coordination Framework has been embroiled in talks to nominate the next prime minister.
“The US has put conditions that armed factions should not be part of the new government,” a senior Iraqi official said. The factions must disarm and “sever ties with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard,” he added.
In recent tweets, the US special envoy to Iraq, Mark Savaya said that Iraqi leaders are at a “crossroads.”
Their decision “will send a clear and unmistakable signal to the United States... that Iraq is ready to claim its rightful place as a stable and respected nation in the new Middle East.
“The alternative is equally clear: economic deterioration, political confusion, and international isolation,” Savaya said.
- Which armed groups? -
The US has blacklisted as “terrorist organizations” several armed groups from within the Hashed Al-Shaabi, a former paramilitary alliance now integrated into the armed forces.
They are also part of the Iran-backed so-called “axis of resistance” and have called for the withdrawal of US troops — deployed in Iraq as part of an anti-jihadist coalition — and launched attacks against them.
Most of these groups hold seats in parliament and have seen their political and financial clout increase.
The Asaib Ahl Al-Haq faction, led by Qais Al-Khazali, who is a key figure in the Coordination Framework, won 27 seats in the latest election, making it harder to exclude it from the government.
A potential compromise is to deny it a key portfolio, as in the current government.
“The US has turned a blind eye before, so they might after all engage with the government as a whole but not with ministries held by armed groups,” a former Iraqi official said.
Other blacklisted groups are:
+ Kataeb Hezbollah, one of the most powerful armed groups, supports a parliamentary bloc (six seats).
+ Kataeb Sayyid Al-Shuhada, Kataeb Imam Ali and Harakat Ansar Allah Al-Awfiya.
+ The Al-Nujaba movement is the only group that has steered clear of elections.
- What is at stake? -
Iraq has its economic growth to worry about.
After decades of turmoil, it has only begun to regain a sense of normalcy in recent years.
Washington has already imposed sanctions on several Iraqi entities and banks, accusing them of helping Tehran evade sanctions.
But Iraqi leaders hope for greater foreign investments and support partnerships with US companies.
The most striking endorsement came from Khazali, an opponent of the US military presence who now argues that it would be in Baghdad’s interest for major US companies to invest.
Since the Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza began in October 2023, Iraq has remained relatively unscathed by the turmoil engulfing the Middle East.
Iraqi armed groups did launch attacks on US troops and largely unsuccessful ones on Israel. Washington responded with heavy strikes, and the attacks have long-since halted.
Iraq remained the only close regional ally of Iran to stay out of Israel’s crosshairs.
So far, the US has acted as a buffer, helping to prevent an Israeli attack, but Iraqis have been warned of strikes against the armed groups, multiple sources said.
But as the presence of American forces dwindles, fears are growing.
Amid seismic changes in the Middle East, where new alliances are forming and old powers waning, Iraqi leaders face a daunting task: navigating relations with US-blacklisted pro-Iranian factions.
- What does the US want? -
The US has held significant sway over Iraqi politics since leading the 2003 invasion that ousted long-time ruler Saddam Hussein.
But another spectre also haunts Iraq’s halls of power: Washington’s arch-foe, Iran.
Iraq has long been caught between the two, with successive governments negotiating a delicate balance.
Now, after November’s election, Washington has demanded the eventual government must exclude Iran-backed armed groups and instead move to dismantle them, Iraqi officials and diplomats told AFP.
A State Department spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Iraqi leaders well know what is and is not compatible with a strong US-Iraq partnership.”
Washington, the spokesperson said, “will continue to speak plainly to the urgency of dismantling Iran-backed militias.”
But some of these groups have increased their presence in the new chamber and have joined the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shiite parties with varying ties to Iran and which holds the majority.
For weeks, the Coordination Framework has been embroiled in talks to nominate the next prime minister.
“The US has put conditions that armed factions should not be part of the new government,” a senior Iraqi official said. The factions must disarm and “sever ties with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard,” he added.
In recent tweets, the US special envoy to Iraq, Mark Savaya said that Iraqi leaders are at a “crossroads.”
Their decision “will send a clear and unmistakable signal to the United States... that Iraq is ready to claim its rightful place as a stable and respected nation in the new Middle East.
“The alternative is equally clear: economic deterioration, political confusion, and international isolation,” Savaya said.
- Which armed groups? -
The US has blacklisted as “terrorist organizations” several armed groups from within the Hashed Al-Shaabi, a former paramilitary alliance now integrated into the armed forces.
They are also part of the Iran-backed so-called “axis of resistance” and have called for the withdrawal of US troops — deployed in Iraq as part of an anti-jihadist coalition — and launched attacks against them.
Most of these groups hold seats in parliament and have seen their political and financial clout increase.
The Asaib Ahl Al-Haq faction, led by Qais Al-Khazali, who is a key figure in the Coordination Framework, won 27 seats in the latest election, making it harder to exclude it from the government.
A potential compromise is to deny it a key portfolio, as in the current government.
“The US has turned a blind eye before, so they might after all engage with the government as a whole but not with ministries held by armed groups,” a former Iraqi official said.
Other blacklisted groups are:
+ Kataeb Hezbollah, one of the most powerful armed groups, supports a parliamentary bloc (six seats).
+ Kataeb Sayyid Al-Shuhada, Kataeb Imam Ali and Harakat Ansar Allah Al-Awfiya.
+ The Al-Nujaba movement is the only group that has steered clear of elections.
- What is at stake? -
Iraq has its economic growth to worry about.
After decades of turmoil, it has only begun to regain a sense of normalcy in recent years.
Washington has already imposed sanctions on several Iraqi entities and banks, accusing them of helping Tehran evade sanctions.
But Iraqi leaders hope for greater foreign investments and support partnerships with US companies.
The most striking endorsement came from Khazali, an opponent of the US military presence who now argues that it would be in Baghdad’s interest for major US companies to invest.
Since the Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza began in October 2023, Iraq has remained relatively unscathed by the turmoil engulfing the Middle East.
Iraqi armed groups did launch attacks on US troops and largely unsuccessful ones on Israel. Washington responded with heavy strikes, and the attacks have long-since halted.
Iraq remained the only close regional ally of Iran to stay out of Israel’s crosshairs.
So far, the US has acted as a buffer, helping to prevent an Israeli attack, but Iraqis have been warned of strikes against the armed groups, multiple sources said.
But as the presence of American forces dwindles, fears are growing.
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