Middle East & Africa | The case against UNRWA

The real problem with the UN’s agency for Palestinians

It has perpetuated the misery of Palestinians

Israeli soldiers inside an evacuated compound of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
Photograph: AFP
|DUBAI

NOTHING is permanent, but in the Holy Land some things come close. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was founded in 1949 to aid 700,000 Palestinian refugees displaced by the creation of Israel. Meant as a temporary fix, its mandate has been renewed every few years since. This year it will turn 75—if it survives that long.

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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The case against it”

From the February 17th 2024 edition

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