by Fady Noun

Refugees in Lebanon incredulous, and worried, at the prospect of funding to the UN agency being suspended. Beirut head Dorothee Klaus: 'With the blocked funds we have resources to hold out only until the end of March'. At risk of closure are 61 schools housing 37,000 students and 155 dispensaries and hospitals.

Beirut (AsiaNews) - In what looks a lot like a new collective punishment, Palestinian refugees in the Arab world are anxiously reacting to the conclusions of a preliminary report on Israeli accusations to the UN Agency for the Relief and Employment of Palestinian Refugees in Middle east (UNRWA).

According to the government of the Jewish State, at least 12 employees of the agency - out of a total of 30 thousand in the region - took part in various capacities in Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October.

About ten nations, including important donors such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Sweden, have announced a suspension - according to Washington "temporary" - of funding to the agency. At the same time, around twenty international NGOs have defined this announcement as "revolting".

On the other hand, the petromonarchies of the area called upon to fill the 500 million dollar hole - if the freezing of funds materializes - seem to resist the idea; they continue to consider UNRWA as the counterpart of the West's contribution to the birth of Israel and the plight of the Palestinian people.

Pending verification of the accusations, the United Nations agency - an essential body for 5.9 million Palestinians - fired the 12 allegedly guilty employees on February 2 and promised an in-depth internal investigation to clarify the contours of the affair .

At the same time, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced on February 5 the creation of an "independent committee" responsible for evaluating the "neutrality" of the body in its way of operating. For a number of years, in fact, Israel has accused Palestinian organizations, including Hamas, of exploiting UNRWA to expand their audience and consensus among the population.

The Lebanese front

Yesterday the UNRWA representative in Lebanon Dorothee Klaus, received by Prime Minister Nagib Mikati, confirmed to journalists in Beirut that 19 donors have suspended their funding following the accusations made by Israel.

“We are expecting – she explained – a report on a preliminary investigation by early March, on the basis of which we assume that donors will reconsider their decisions”. The UN official then added: "In Lebanon we have enough [funds and resources] to resist until the end of March."

However, after that date up to 250 thousand Palestinians present in the territory will be abandoned to their own devices, considering that 80% of them live below the poverty line. “There is no alternative - concluded Klaus - to UNRWA” in the Land of Cedars, which otherwise risks sinking.

A catastrophe

For Palestinians in Lebanon, the end of UNRWA funding is seen as "a catastrophe". Interviewed by the French-speaking Lebanese newspaper L'Orient-Le Jour (LOJ), Bassel Hassan, president of the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee, explains that UNRWA has an annual budget of 200 million dollars for the country.

This fund is used to pay the salaries of 500 public employees, to finance 61 schools for a total of 37 thousand pupils and to manage 155 dispensaries and some hospitals, such as the Hamchari hospital in Saïda.

According to Dr Hassan, without funding "all these institutions risk having economic difficulties and being forced to close". He also stresses that “there are no reserves set aside” in case of need.

The prospect of a definitive freeze on UNRWA funding worries Lebanese officials, who fear both an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and social unrest among a population that - in many cases - depends entirely on the agency for its survival.

Protests in Beirut

Meanwhile, dozens of Palestinians gathered yesterday in front of the UN agency's headquarters in Beirut to protest against the decision to suspend financial aid. “We are afraid for the future of UNRWA... All our children study in UNRWA schools and most of our medical care is covered by the agency,” Abu Mohamad, a 65-year-old Palestinian refugee, told AFP. came to "ask the countries to revoke their decision".

According to United Nations estimates, the agency - to which approximately 5.9 million Palestinians are registered, of which 250 thousand in Lebanon - provides education, healthcare, social services, infrastructure for fields and agriculture, micro-financing projects and emergency aid.

However, beyond the practical details, the disintegration of UNRWA - whose creation dates back to resolutions 181 and 194 of the UN Security Council of December 1948 - would sanction the definitive exile of the Palestinians who were forced to abandon their homes, a dramatic consequence of the partition of Palestine. His permanence would mean, on the contrary, the right to the lost homeland and the persistence of his memory.