Post-Gaza Has Already Begun

For nearly eight decades, UNRWA has shaped the fate of Palestinian refugees. Established in 1949 to address the humanitarian crisis that followed the first Arab-Israeli war, the agency has gradually evolved into an institution that is humanitarian, political, and deeply symbolic.

Today, its future is more uncertain than ever.

At first glance, the debate appears to revolve around a United Nations agency. In reality, it reflects two fundamentally different visions of peace.

For many governments and humanitarian organizations, UNRWA remains indispensable until a comprehensive political settlement is reached. Eliminating the agency now, they argue, would leave millions of civilians without essential services.

For others—Israel foremost among them—it is precisely UNRWA’s continued existence that has helped freeze the conflict by preserving mechanisms established in 1949. From this perspective, lasting peace cannot emerge without changing the institutions that have accompanied the conflict for nearly eighty years.

The post-Gaza era, therefore, is no longer simply about rebuilding shattered cities. It is about deciding who will govern Gaza tomorrow—and according to what principles.

Why Israel Now Rejects UNRWA

Israel’s rejection of UNRWA is not based solely on the allegations that surfaced after the October 7, 2023 attacks, when investigations found that some agency employees had participated in or assisted Hamas operations. For Israeli leaders, those revelations merely confirmed a long-standing belief: UNRWA has become part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

Israel raises several major criticisms.

The first concerns the hereditary nature of refugee status. Unlike the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNRWA extends refugee status to descendants of the original refugees. As a result, the approximately........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)