<\/p>\n
Statement by Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, at the fourth meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n CAIRO, 17 February 2025, as prepared.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Foreign Minister\u00a0<\/span>Abdelatty,\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Excellencies<\/span>,\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n T<\/span>he Israeli legislation targeting UNRWA\u2019s operations in the occupied Palestinian territory is now being implemented.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The last time we met, we discussed\u00a0<\/span>the possible implications of this legislation for UNRWA\u2019s work in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Th<\/span>e Agency now faces significant operational challenges.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n UNRWA<\/span>\u00a0was compelled to evacuate its compound in Sheikh Jarrah, which remains a United Nations building, protected under international law.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n International staf<\/span>f have been effectively expelled from the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The\u00a0<\/span>courage and commitment of our Palestinian staff have allowed UNRWA schools and health clinics to remain open, providing essential services to Palestine Refugees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In East Jerusalem, a<\/span>ttendance rates at our schools are averaging 80 percent and hundreds of people visit our health centers daily.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n UNRWA\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0operations in Gaza are also continuing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A<\/span>\u00a0core team of international staff is present, but Israel no longer facilitates their entry and exit via the Kerem Abu Salem crossing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It is unclear<\/span>\u00a0to what extent our ability to operate will be further constrained by the prohibition on contact between UNRWA representatives and Israeli officials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n What is clear is tha<\/span>t the Agency will stay and deliver its mandate until it is prevented from doing so.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We will do this\u00a0<\/span>despite the considerable risks to our staff in an increasingly hostile operational environment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Excellencies<\/span><\/strong>,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The ceasefir<\/span>e is a welcome respite from the horrors of the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We<\/span>\u00a0are heartened by the return of hostages and Palestinian detainees to their families.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We\u00a0<\/span>welcome the marked improvement in the flow of humanitarian aid.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n UNRWA<\/span>\u00a0continues to play a critical role in addressing the immense needs of Gaza\u2019s shattered population.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Since the ceasefire began,<\/span>\u00a0we have distributed food to more than 1.5 million people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We conduct some 17,000 medical consultations every day, and have expanded our health services,\u00a0<\/span>including to Gaza City and North Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In January, we<\/span>\u00a0launched an online learning platform, which has already registered more than 260,000 children \u2013 half of them girls.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Curtailing UNRWA\u2019s operations now \u2013 when needs are so high, and trust in the international community is so low \u2013\u00a0<\/span>is counterproductive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It<\/span>\u00a0has the potential to sabotage Gaza\u2019s recovery and plans for a political transition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Excellencies<\/span><\/strong>,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The transition from<\/span>\u00a0a ceasefire to a \u201cday after\u201d will be long and painful.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n UNRWA\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>capacity to provide public-like services to an entire population can only be substituted by a full-fledged state.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A clear choice<\/span>\u00a0lies before us:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We can allow UNRWA to implode due to the Knesset legislation and the suspension of funding by key donors.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n T<\/span>he collapse of the Agency would create a vacuum in the occupied Palestinian territory and send shockwaves through neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A<\/span>n environment in which children are deprived of education, and people lack access to basic services, is fertile ground for exploitation and extremism.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This is a<\/span>\u00a0threat to peace and stability in the region and beyond.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Alternatively,<\/span>\u00a0we can allow UNRWA to progressively conclude its mandate within the framework of a political process like that championed by the Global Alliance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Agency<\/span>\u00a0would gradually transition its public-like services to empowered and prepared Palestinian institutions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This is<\/span>\u00a0the future for which we are preparing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Today, you will hear from my colleagues<\/span>\u00a0how UNRWA\u2019s critical services, personnel and assets can be handed over in the context of a political process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n D<\/span>eveloping the capacity of Palestinian personnel and institutions will be the cornerstone of our approach.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The tran<\/span>sition of\u00a0education<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>services w<\/span>ould span several years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In addition to incrementally handing o<\/span>ver schools and personnel, UNRWA would train teachers to use UNRWA materials on human rights, tolerance, and conflict resolution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We<\/span>\u00a0would also provide access to self-learning materials for emergencies and our IT infrastructure to facilitate digital education.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n UNRWA is the largest\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>primary healthcare<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0provider<\/span>\u00a0in Gaza, and the second largest in the West Bank.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Our<\/span>\u00a0network of health centres and highly trained workforce make UNRWA a vital partner in any transition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The<\/span>\u00a0handover of our health services would focus on developing the capacity of Palestinian institutions, including managing non-communicable diseases, family medicine, and digital health systems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n O<\/span>ur efforts would be guided by national health priorities and the specific needs of the Palestinian population.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Our priority\u00a0<\/span>would be to ensure continuity of care for millions of patients across the occupied Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Excellencies<\/span><\/strong>,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The success of our efforts\u00a0<\/span>depends entirely on the strength of the international community\u2019s commitment to a political pathway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This commitment must be backed by<\/span>\u00a0funding to preserve the Agency\u2019s operations until the transfer of its services to Palestinian institutions is complete.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n UNRWA<\/span>\u00a0is a formidable asset for ensuring a viable political transition that can provide a definitive answer to the question of Palestine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n E<\/span>mbedding the Agency in a political process will help to protect Palestine Refugees and maintain the long-established parameters for peace in the occupied Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The window of opportunity\u00a0<\/span>to preserve UNRWA\u2019s operations is closing \u2013 your decisive intervention is urgently needed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Statement by Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, at the fourth meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution CAIRO, 17 February 2025, as prepared. Foreign Minister\u00a0Abdelatty,\u00a0\u00a0 Excellencies,\u00a0 The Israeli legislation targeting UNRWA\u2019s operations in the occupied Palestinian territory is now being implemented. The last time we met, we discussed\u00a0the […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2637,2773,1338],"document-source":[1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1769,1945,2005,1745,6771],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-305906","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-remarks","document-category-speech","document-category-statement","document-source-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-unrwa","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","document-subject-two-state-solution","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/305906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/305906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":305973,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/305906\/revisions\/305973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=305906"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=305906"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=305906"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=305906"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=305906"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=305906"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=305906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}