Germany Head of the Palestinian Relief and Works Agency: currently no replacement for UNRWA

The head of the Palestinian Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is hoping for a clear political path to a two-state solution for Palestinians and Israelis in the coming weeks. The role of UNRWA must be clearly defined, said Philippe Lazzarini in Geneva.

This would have to happen by the end of January, because an Israeli law banning UNRWA from working in the occupied territories is due to come into force then.

Only a Palestinian state is an alternative to UNRWA, the Swiss said. According to the mandate of the United Nations, it fulfills state tasks such as education and healthcare for Palestinian refugees.

It has around 17,000 employees. Without an alternative, the end of UNRWA would create a vacuum in the Palestinian territories and even more breeding ground for extremism and hatred, said Lazzarini.

There is no plan B in the UN family to replace UNRWA. No UN organization could take over the tasks.

The 29 governments on the UNRWA Advisory Board want to pull out all the diplomatic stops to get Israel to change its mind. This was stated by the Chairman of the Advisory Board, the Director of the Spanish development aid organization Antón Leis, on the fringes of a meeting in Geneva.

The member countries were united in their condemnation of the parliamentary decision, said Leis. Germany is also a member of the Advisory Council.

SDA