As the US-created Board of Peace pushes ahead with plans to rebuild Gaza, it has said there’s no place for the UN body that for decades has provided support to displaced Palestinians.
But the agency’s last chief says that behind the scenes, board members and others have been more open to working with the UN agency for Palestinians than it seems.
Israel wants the agency known as UNRWA out of Gaza and has repeatedly accused it of being infiltrated by Hamas militants, allegations the International Court of Justice says have not been substantiated.
And yet UNRWA remains the territory’s largest aid provider, playing a key role in health and education.
Philippe Lazzarini, who led UNRWA until earlier this year, told the AP in an exclusive interview — his first since stepping down — that members of the Palestinian technocratic committee want to work with the agency.
Another UN official shared minutes from meetings where UNRWA and the committee discussed collaborating on plans for Gaza.
A Board of Peace official confirmed that board members had met multiple times with UNRWA officials.
And while the agency’s days are over, its programmes “may persist if they are serving Gazans well,” the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry did not comment.
