Date: 18 June 2026
During His Address at the Advisory Commission Meetings
Calls on donors to conclude multi-year funding agreements with UNRWA and pursue Israel internationally for its crimes against the Agency's personnel.
The dismantling of UNRWA and the ban on its activities constitute a flagrant violation of the multilateral international system.
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Dr. Ahmad Abu Holi, Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Head of the Department of Refugee Affairs, called on donors to lift all restrictions and conditions imposed on funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), conclude multi-year funding agreements with the Agency, and provide additional urgent financial support to bridge the deficit in its regular budget.
In his address to the Advisory Commission meeting of UNRWA, held today, Thursday, in Amman, the Jordanian capital, Abu Holi urged members of the Advisory Commission to press their governments to take immediate action to counter Israeli policies aimed at undermining the Agency's humanitarian and political role and to halt the decision to convert UNRWA's seized headquarters in occupied Jerusalem into a museum and headquarters for the so-called "Israeli Ministry of Security." He reiterated that responsibility for protecting UNRWA rests entirely with the United Nations.
The Advisory Commission meetings are attended by approximately 30 donor countries, in addition to representatives of Arab host countries for Palestine refugees, the European Union, and the League of Arab States. Over the course of two days, participants are discussing a range of issues related to UNRWA, foremost among them its financial crisis and the political, operational, and financial challenges affecting its core and emergency services for Palestine refugees across its fields of operation, amid the rapidly changing political and security situation in the region.
Abu Holi stressed the urgent need to pursue legal action before international courts to hold the occupying power accountable for its crimes against UNRWA personnel and facilities in the Gaza Strip, and to prosecute settlers and soldiers responsible for systematic attacks on the Agency's installations in the West Bank and Jerusalem, in order to uphold international law and end the policy of impunity enjoyed by the extremist Israeli government.
Abu Holi also reaffirmed his rejection of the recent administrative and austerity measures adopted by the Agency's management that undermine employees' rights and job security, particularly salary reductions, a 20 percent cut in working hours, the termination of contracts for hundreds of employees and professionals from the Gaza Strip who are forcibly present in Egypt, and the dismissal of 70 staff members in Gaza based on unfounded Israeli allegations that have not been subjected to an independent and transparent investigation. He stressed that these measures cannot be legitimized, but should instead be regarded as temporary emergency steps that must be revoked immediately once the Agency's financial situation improves. He further emphasized that any solution to the financial crisis must not come at the expense of the livelihoods of local staff or the quality of essential services provided to Palestine refugees.
The Head of the Department of Refugee Affairs warned that UNRWA is facing a historic battle for survival shaped by three interrelated existential challenges: the systematic Israeli political campaign to dismantle its international mandate, suffocating operational restrictions on the ground, and a chronic financial deficit that has translated into catastrophic living conditions, driving poverty and unemployment rates to record levels exceeding 85 percent in some fields of operation, while seriously affecting the quality and continuity of education, healthcare, and relief services.
Abu Holi explained that the current crises have crossed all red lines, evolving into an unprecedented destructive reality as a result of the ongoing genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, which has devastated infrastructure and turned facilities and shelters into military targets. At the same time, systematic destruction has targeted vital infrastructure in refugee camps in the northern West Bank, alongside military escalation affecting the Beirut camps and the Tyre area in southern Lebanon. This has triggered new waves of forced displacement, compelling UNRWA to implement the highest level of emergency response by opening additional shelters despite severe resource shortages. He added that this campaign is openly reflected in illegal Israeli legislation and the stripping of the Agency's immunities, which has already resulted in the closure of six UNRWA schools in occupied Jerusalem and the initiation of plans to transform its historic headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood into settlement outposts and security facilities, setting a dangerous precedent that violates the multilateral international system.
He reaffirmed that UNRWA will remain the sole legitimate international organization with an exclusive mandate under United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302, and that it cannot be replaced or substituted, as it embodies the international community's political and moral responsibility toward the Palestine refugee issue until a comprehensive and just solution is reached in accordance with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194.
Abu Holi paid tribute to UNRWA's courageous field personnel, particularly those serving in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, stressing that the killing of 400 members of its staff and relief workers constitutes a full-fledged war crime that requires the prosecution of those responsible and firm international accountability to put an end to the prevailing policy of impunity.
