Israel hesitated regarding its position towards UNRWA, and now "Israel Hayom" correspondent Ariel Kahana reports that the European Union intends to increase the agency's budget. If it does not come to its senses, Israel may miss a historic opportunity to fundamentally change the dynamics of the conflict and inflict a painful blow on Hamas, which will be considered even A painful loss in the war.
After the "Wall Street Journal" exposed last week the depth of Hamas' control over UNRWA, many countries decided to stop funding the agency, including the European Union.
Weapons warehouses at the UNRA offices in the Gaza Strip, photo: IDF spokesman
It turned out that about 10% of UNRA employees were involved in terrorist activity even before the pogrom on 10/7, at least 12 of them participated in it themselves, and it is also known that at least two employees kept hostages in their homes. To these, of course, we must add the shafts and weapons caches that were discovered in the facilities The agency, to such an extent that it is impossible for it to have disappeared from the eyes of its management.
Although Israeli intelligence officials claimed to have presented the Americans with incriminating materials regarding UNRA, it appears that Israel has a lot more intelligence information that it has not yet passed on to the international bodies. Borrell, the European Union's foreign minister, hung on to this fact and said that Israel has not presented solid evidence of UNRA's involvement Terrorism - which certainly also facilitated Spain's decision to announce that it would grant millions to UNRWA.
The rare window of opportunity for dismantling UNRA is closing.
Victory is not only on the battlefield
The announcement of the end of donations to UNRWA caught Israel by surprise. Israel fears a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, which will be thrown at it if the agency ceases to operate. In a recent hearing held in the American Congress, one of the American experts testified that it was always the Israelis who defended UNRWA.
UNRWA's aid trucks at the entrance to the Gaza Strip, photo: None
It seems that Israel's captains do not understand the great opportunity - the meaning of which is precisely understood by Hanin Majadala, the Palestinian journalist who wrote in "Haaretz" a few days ago: "The organization represents something much bigger: the ethos of the Palestinian refugees, or in other words - the 'right of return'" .
Israel longs for achievements in the war, and dismantling UNRA could be a bright and distinct achievement for it - which means the practical cancellation of the "right of return" and its removal from the agenda of the international community.
UNRA facility (archive), photo: AFP
The definition of refugees, Aliba Daunra, is unique in the world in that it is inherited: even those who received citizenship in their place of residence or who immigrated to the West maintain their status as refugees, as do Palestinians who live under Palestinian rule. As a result, if after the War of Independence there were about 700 A thousand refugees - today their number is approaching 6 million.
With the cancellation of UNRA, its unique definitions will also be canceled, and when the lists are updated, we will find that the problem has in fact almost disappeared. Victory in the war is achieved not only on the battlefield, but mainly in the long-term processes it creates. A war that Hamas started, and the result of which is the practical and principled cancellation of the "right of return , cannot be considered a victory for him either.
The author is the founder and CEO of "Athilta", a Zionist and non-partisan think tank that deals with issues of security, resilience and cohesion
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