"Israel" ends UNRWA presence.!
Afrasianet - "Al-Quds Al-Arabi" - Ashraf Al Hawar - Several sources revealed to Al-Quds Al-Arabi a dangerous plan led by Christian Saunders, the acting commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), aimed at "liquidating" this UN organization.
At the outset, the plan includes laying off thousands of employees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip areas of operations, in preparation for handing over all the tasks carried out by this UN organization, which has the symbolic special status of the Palestinian refugee file, to other UN organizations and to the Peace Council.
"It seems that at that meeting I approved the first steps to dismantle UNRWA"
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An informed Palestinian source said that the recent meeting of the subcommittee of the UNRWA Advisory Committee witnessed the clear disclosure of this dangerous plan, when Saunders, in the presence of representatives of several countries hosting or supporting Palestinian refugees, spoke about his plan to lay off thousands of staff working in various UNRWA programs that provide services to Palestinian refugees.
Liquidation Plan
The source revealed that Saunders has put forward his plan to dismiss between 7,000 and 8,000 employees, out of 15,000 employees working in UNRWA's areas of operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which means that he will reduce the number of employees to half at once, which will lead to a major collapse in the UNRWA work system and paralyze it.
The Palestinian source, who participated in official Palestinian discussions held after that meeting to discuss confronting this dangerous plan, explained that Saunders is leading the "liquidation" plan, and that he then wants to hand over the tasks of UNRWA, as Israel and the US administration want, to the US-led Peace Council.
"The same person in charge of Saunders assignment: It is clear that he came to implement this scheme during this period"
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The source pointed out that the acting commissioner spoke of a "futile" plan to beautify the liquidation plan, and claimed that projects would be implemented for refugees that would make them not dependent on UNRWA.
However, the source described Saunders' efforts as a "malicious scheme", stressing that "UNRWA's implications do not stop at providing basic services to Palestinian refugees, but extend beyond that, as they represent an international witness to the tragedy of Palestinian refugees, and affirm their right to return to their homes from which they were displaced, in accordance with the UN resolution, when UNRWA was established."
Christian Saunders, Acting Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)
Donor rejection
Returning to that meeting held by the Subcommittee in the Jordanian capital Amman a few days ago, it witnessed a great uproar, during which many attendees expressed their indignation and rejection of this plan, including representatives of donor countries.
Among them was the representative of Ireland, who addressed Saunders by saying that his country pays donations to UNRWA for Gaza refugees, and that if he takes this step, it will find itself not obligated to pay such donations, which means increasing the UNRWA budget deficit, which invalidates the claims of the Commissioner-General, who attributed the plan to lay off staff and reduce services to a "budget deficit."
At that meeting, Switzerland also slammed the plan to cut staff, calling Saunders' plan "very dangerous."
The representative of Egypt also criticized this plan, and addressed Saunders directly, asking whether he had held consultations with the countries hosting the refugees, and he was aware of the fact that these countries completely rejected such a plan. He stressed the seriousness of what is being prepared, and the importance of UNRWA's survival and its continued provision of services to Palestinian refugees, in accordance with the resolution issued by the United Nations General Assembly.
The resolution was also met with criticism from the Palestinian representative at the meeting, who in turn confirmed that the resolution was working to settle the refugee issue and demanded that Saunders retract the plan.
Following the meeting of the subcommittee, the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) held a meeting in Ramallah, which was also attended by the Palestinian Foreign Minister and representatives of the UNRWA Staff Union, in an indication of the seriousness of the situation and the developments taking place. During the meeting, the committee approved several steps to act quickly, in the hope of stopping the dangerous plan.
"One of the participants in the Executive Committee meeting: "The issue is political par excellence, not financial"
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Malicious plan
In a statement issued by the Executive Committee after that meeting, the Committee affirmed its categorical rejection of any trend to lay off large numbers of UNRWA staff in its areas of operation, warning of the serious repercussions of the financial crisis faced by the Agency on the continuation of its services and UN mandate, in light of the existential challenges targeting its role towards Palestinian refugees.
The meeting also discussed the worsening financial crisis of UNRWA, the dangers of the Agency's management moving towards laying off large numbers of its staff, and ways to address these challenges and ensure the continuity of the Agency's work and services.
The Executive Committee stressed that UNRWA staff form the backbone of the Agency, and that their dismissal will not address the financial crisis, but will threaten the continuity of education, health, relief and social protection services provided to millions of refugees, and increase the humanitarian and social burdens in the camps, threatening stability in the region.
The Committee called on the Acting Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Christian Saunders, to withdraw any trend to dismiss employees, to freeze the related procedures, not to prejudice their rights and salaries, to discuss the available legal and administrative alternatives to overcome the crisis, and to deal positively with the proposals and temporary options presented by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Department of Refugee Affairs, the General Conference of Local Workers' Unions, and experts specialized in the financial situation of UNRWA, in order to ensure the protection of employees and avoid forced dismissal.
"Senior UNRWA official: This proves that there is a clear liquidation plan"
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Al-Quds Al-Arabi has learned that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has instructed urgent diplomatic moves, as the Foreign Ministry has made multiple contacts with the United Nations in New York, including the Secretary-General and a number of other senior officials there, in order to prevent the implementation of the plan. Other contacts are also being made with donor countries in order to pay the financial deficit and block the implementation of the Commissioner's plan.
A senior UNRWA official confirmed to Al-Quds Al-Arabi that the current financial deficit, which Saunders is using as a justification for passing his plan, which he described as "malicious," is estimated at only US$70 million.
He revealed that the financial deficit in previous years reached $150 million and $200 million, but without going to implement a plan to lay off such a huge number of employees.
He pointed out that the number of employees currently working in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which amounts to 15,000 employees, is not enough to meet the needs of the refugee sectors, wondering what the situation will be if the number is reduced to half.
He explained that UNRWA has not hired anyone in the Gaza Strip for three years, and instead, in light of the growing need due to the war, it has dismissed dozens of staff and has not recruited new staff in place of those who have been referred to retirement.
"This proves that there is a clear liquidation scheme," he said, noting that Saunders came in as acting commissioner for an eight-month transition period.
He added, "It is clear that he came to implement this plan at this time," and the source noted that he "may have been promised another position at the United Nations if he implements this plan."
"Decision to terminate the contracts of about 8,000 employees and transfer services to other organizations"
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Agreement with the Peace Council
The UNRWA official stressed that the decision to terminate the work of this UN organization is not controlled by a state or a commissioner, but rather by the United Nations General Assembly, which issued the decision to establish UNRWA, and this mandate is renewed every three years with the great support of member states.
He explained that the commissioner's plan is also based on transferring some of the services provided by UNRWA to other UN organizations, in order to "break the symbolism of UNRWA for refugees."
The official revealed unannounced contacts made by senior UNRWA officials with other officials of the Peace Council, followed by the Council's announcement that UNRWA would be excluded from any arrangements for relief work in Gaza during the next phase.
He pointed out that the Council confirmed this by excluding the Agency from attending meetings held by the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, formed by the Peace Council, with representatives of the United Nations relief agencies recently.
"It seems that at that meeting, the first steps of dismantling UNRWA were approved," he said.
Israel, which has banned UNRWA's work and dealings with it, as well as the US administration, refuses to do business with the agency, as the US administration has refrained from providing it with any financial support.
Israel is preventing the UN organization from bringing in large amounts of aid it owns in warehouses near Palestinian areas for the benefit of the residents of the Gaza Strip, after it closed its offices and institutions in East Jerusalem.
The Peace Council has previously stressed that it does not see a future role for the IAEA in its current form.
According to one of those who attended the Executive Committee meeting and listened to a full explanation from Dr. Ahmed Abu Houli, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Refugee Affairs Department, he assured Al-Quds Al-Arabi that "the issue is political par excellence, not financial," and said that everyone is now waiting for Commissioner Saunders to start implementing his plan at any time.
He said this could lead Saunders to be described as "unwelcome" in the Palestinian territories, as a practical response to his plan to "liquidate UNRWA."
He pointed out that there are efforts being made by several parties, including refugees and associations staff, to organize large events to preserve UNRWA, and to counter the plan to reduce and dismantle its services.
The Joint Committee for Refugees in the Gaza Strip had warned of the repercussions of the UNRWA administration's plan to lay off large numbers of its staff, stressing that this threatens the continuity of basic services provided to refugees, exacerbates their humanitarian and living conditions, and directly reflects on the education, health, relief and social services sectors.
The workers' unions also held meetings during which they discussed the developments, and a preliminary agreement was reached to unify the union position and prepare for a strong move to defend the rights of workers and confront this plan, as part of efforts to ensure the continuity of the services provided to refugees.
