Afrasianet - Mahmoud Lafi - Amid ongoing Israeli and US pressure from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the Peace Council in the Gaza Strip (GWC) has openly stated its position "there is no place for UNRWA in the new Gaza", raising doubts about the Council's role and whether it seeks to replace the UN agency in the Gaza Strip, despite the legal and political problems surrounding this.
In a post on the X platform on Wednesday, the Peace Council said there was no place in the future of the Gaza Strip for UNRWA, stressing that it sought to end what it described as "continued dependence on aid", claiming that "the people of Gaza deserve more".
The Peace Council is one of the structures for managing the transitional phase in Gaza, which was approved by the White House on January 16, along with the Gaza Executive Council, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, and the International Stabilization Force.
The council, which was inaugurated by President Donald Trump in January, accompanied its statement with a video clip that included part of a speech by US Representative to the United Nations Jeff Bartos on Tuesday, in which he criticized UNRWA's support and called on countries to choose between "funding incitement, terrorism and stalemate or funding the Peace Council."
Israeli media reported on Tuesday that the Peace Council will begin within a few weeks a pilot project to manage humanitarian shelters in areas of the Gaza Strip.
At a donor conference on UNRWA in New York on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on the international community to cover a $100 million funding gap facing the agency, warning of a risk that could push the situation to a "breaking point" and a threat facing millions of Palestinians due to significant funding shortfalls and sweeping restrictions imposed by Israel on the agency's work.
Official Palestinian discontent
The Peace Council's statement drew official Palestinian resentment, while observers considered it a blatant encroachment and bias on Israel, which has been calling for the abolition of UNRWA for years and seeking to undermine and thwart its work.
In a statement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said that UNRWA is "a lifeline, irreplaceable and a factor of stability," stressing that it was established by an international resolution and a clear mandate, adding that "its work is welcome in the State of Palestine."
It expressed its rejection of any statements that detract from the role of the Agency, "without ending the roots of the suffering to which the Palestinian refugees and the Palestinian people are exposed," and rejected "all terms that try to fragment the Palestinian geography and demography, such as the term 'New Gaza', which tries to isolate the Gaza Strip from its natural space, or the term "the people of Gaza."
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called on all countries and institutions to respect UNRWA's mandate, privileges and immunities, under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.
What does the law say?
In the legal framework, Raed Abu Badawiyah, a professor of international law at the Arab American University, stresses that such statements have no legal effect, pointing out that UNRWA is a UN agency established by the United Nations General Assembly 67 years ago, and its mandate can only be terminated by a decision issued by the same body.
Abu Badawiya points out that the International Court of Justice has affirmed in its advisory opinion that UNRWA plays a unique role that cannot be dispensed with or replaced in the current circumstances, and that its mandate is not subject to unilateral decisions or actions by any party.
The international law professor added that the International Court also affirmed Israel's commitment, as an occupying power, to respect the Agency's work and facilitate its performance of its humanitarian tasks, and also explained that UNRWA is not just an aid provider, but is part of the UN system tasked with protecting the rights of Palestinian refugees until a just solution is found to their case.
This view, Abu Badawiya continues, confirms that the reduction in the need for relief, if achieved in the future through any party, does not in itself change the legal status of the Agency or the continuation of its UN mandate.
"Biases towards Israel and a prelude to displacement"
For his part, the director of the Palestinian National Media Foundation, Ibrahim Al-Madhoun, said that the Peace Council is neither authorized nor qualified to exclude the role of UNRWA, stressing that the Council should not exceed its role, pointing out that its mission is limited to managing the transitional phase and implementing the agreement that ends the war on Gaza.
For Al-Madhoun, the Peace Council's proposal represents a bias towards Israel, given its attempts to dismantle UNRWA and target its presence, considering that the final result that Israel seeks is the revocation of the refugee status of millions of Palestinians and the revocation of the right of return.
Beyond that, the director of the Palestinian Media Foundation warns that the exclusion of the UNRWA Peace Council creates the atmosphere for the displacement of the people of Gaza, after cutting off their lifeline.
UNRWA: 1.7 million Gazans depend on us
On the other hand, the Acting Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Christian Saunders, stresses that the Agency's work in the Gaza Strip contributes to supporting international efforts in the Strip, pointing to UNRWA's capabilities in implementing Security Council Resolution 2803 and the "efforts of the Peace Council and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza" emanating from it.
Speaking at the donor conference, Saunders pointed out that approximately 1.7 million people in Gaza depend on the Agency's services, adding that about 11,000 employees work in various areas of care in the Gaza Strip.
Saunders explained that more than 1,300 health care workers provide 80,000 medical consultations per week, or nearly 14,000 consultations per day, and that more than one million Gazans benefit from water wells, desalination systems and waste management services, and he pointed to the Agency's other services in the field of education and other areas.
UN Secretary-General Guterres noted the "absolutely appalling" living conditions in Gaza and said UNRWA is under extensive restrictions across the occupied Palestinian territory.
Due to inadequate funding, UNRWA, established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 by resolution 302 in the aftermath of the Nakba to protect and assist Palestinians displaced on ethnic grounds, was forced to scale back its operations.
In addition to the financial deficit, UNRWA is facing mounting Israeli pressure and actions.
The United States, which was the largest donor to UNRWA, cut funding in early 2024 after Israel claimed, without providing evidence, that a limited number of UNRWA staff had participated in the October 7, 2023, operation.
In the same context, Bashar Abu Zakri writes: The Gaza Peace Council's declaration that "UNRWA has no place in the new Gaza" was not just a position concerning the future of the UN Relief Agency, but raised profound questions about the future of the Palestinian refugee cause itself .
The Council posted on its account on the "X" platform that it does not see a place for UNRWA in the future of the Gaza Strip, stressing that it seeks to end what it described as "continued dependence on aid", adding that "the people of Gaza deserve more".
The Gaza Peace Council is a transitional administrative body with international legal personality that sets a framework and coordinates funding for the redevelopment of the Gaza Strip, which is one of the key items in the plan put forward by US President Donald Trump on September 29, 2025, and later endorsed by the UN Security Council.
The Council's announcement came in the context of talk about reshaping the reality of Gaza after the war of extermination, which opened the door to fears that ending UNRWA's role would be a prelude to infringement of the right of return, as the Agency is the most prominent international witness to the issue of millions of Palestinian refugees for more than seven decades.
Fears of infringement of the right to return
The announcement sparked a wave of anger among Palestinians on social media platforms, where many saw that the targeting of UNRWA is not limited to its humanitarian and relief role, but extends to its political and symbolic status, as the international institution established in 1949 to care for Palestinian refugees, and represents an international witness to the continuation of the cause of asylum and the right of return.
Analysts and activists considered that the calls to end the work of the Agency and replace it with new structures reflect, according to them, a bias towards the Israeli narrative, and aim to transform the refugee issue from a political issue and a legal right guaranteed by international resolutions to a relief and economic file, thus opening the door to undermining the right of return stipulated in UN General Assembly Resolution 194.
Others saw this proposal as an attempt to dismantle international institutions concerned with refugees and target the political value of UNRWA, as the most prominent UN institution that embodies the continued international recognition of the rights of Palestinian refugees.
Criticism of the Council and its Vision for the Future of Gaza
In the same context, bloggers considered that these proposals intersect with Israeli policies that aim to impose a new reality in the Gaza Strip, which leads to the weakening of the role of international institutions and the marginalization of UN authorities in dealing with the Palestinian issue.
Others also criticized what they described as the Peace Council's attempt to speak on behalf of the Palestinians and determine what the residents of the Gaza Strip need without consulting them or their representatives, considering that this reflects a prescriptive approach that ignores the Palestinians' right to determine their own future.
Activists stressed that ending UNRWA's role in Gaza represents a step towards the resolution of the issue of asylum and the right of return, stressing that the Agency has played, for decades, a pivotal role in providing education, health and relief services to millions of Palestine refugees, and that replacing them with new entities will not change their legal status or the rights guaranteed to them by international legitimacy.
UNRWA Between Israeli Rejection and International Support
Activists and defenders of the Agency assert that UNRWA is not just a provider of humanitarian aid, education and health services, but also an international witness to the persistence of the refugee issue until a just solution is reached in accordance with UN resolutions. They believe that any attempt to end its role or replace it with other bodies will not nullify the legal status of refugees or their internationally recognized rights.
These developments come at a time when UNRWA is facing unprecedented challenges, both due to restrictions on its operations in the Palestinian territories and the funding crisis it is experiencing, in conjunction with the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
While Israel describes the Agency as part of the problem, the United Nations and several donor countries insist on the continuity of its work, stressing that its services are a vital artery for millions of Palestine refugees, and that any change in its status must be part of a comprehensive political settlement, not the result of unilateral actions.
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Source: Al Jazeera + Social Media
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