The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency dedicated to providing relief and human development assistance to Palestinian refugees. Its mandate extends to those who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestine war (Nakba) and subsequent conflicts, including descendants and legally adopted children. As of 2019, over 5.6 million Palestinians were registered with UNRWA as refugees, highlighting the scale of its operations and the ongoing needs of the population it serves.
Palestine refugees are defined as persons whose regular place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.
Palestine refugees are defined as persons whose regular place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.
In November 1948, following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 212 (III) establishing the UN Relief for Palestine Refugees (UNRPR) to provide emergency relief to Palestine refugees.
Following the 1948 war, UNRWA policy considers Palestinian Arabs who fled from Israel, and their descendants, as refugees until a just and durable solution is found.
In 1948, during the Nakba and the 1948 Palestine war, Palestinians fled or were expelled, leading to the creation of UNRWA to support refugees.
In 1948, the UN General Assembly established UNRWA to provide relief to all refugees resulting from the conflict.
On December 8, 1949, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 302(IV), which established the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
In 1949, UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly to provide relief to refugees from the 1948 conflict.
In December 1950, UNRWA's mandate was expanded through Resolution 393(V), instructing the agency to establish a reintegration fund for the permanent re-establishment of refugees.
In 1950, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established as the main agency to aid all other refugees worldwide, while UNRWA focuses on Palestinian refugees.
Since 1950, UNRWA has acted as the main healthcare provider for Palestinian refugees, offering primary care clinics, access to hospitals, food aid, and environmental health services in refugee camps.
Since 1950, UNRWA has been the main provider of basic education to Palestinian refugee children, offering free basic education to all registered refugee children.
When UNRWA began operations in 1950, it was responding to the needs of about 700,000 Palestinian refugees.
On 26 January 1952, a resolution allocated four times as much funding on reintegration than on relief, requesting UNRWA to otherwise continue providing programs for health care, education, and general welfare.
In 1952, the Israeli government took over the responsibility for Jewish and Arab Palestine refugees inside the State of Israel.
In 1967, UNRWA took action to mitigate the effects of the 1967 War on Palestine refugees.
In 1967, the Six-Day War created a new wave of Palestinian refugees who could not be included in the original UNRWA definition.
In 1991, the Microfinance Department (MD) was established within UNRWA to provide microfinance services to Palestinian refugees and other marginalized groups.
Since 1991, the UN General Assembly has adopted an annual resolution allowing the 1967 refugees within the UNRWA mandate.
Nathan Brown's review of Palestinian textbooks focused on changes that started in 1994.
In 1998, the Centre for Monitoring the Impact of Peace conducted research into Palestinian textbooks.
In 2000, the Palestinian Authority (PA) started issuing its own textbooks for use in schools.
Since 2000, UNRWA has been delivering human rights education in its schools to promote non-violence, healthy communication skills, peaceful conflict resolution, human rights, tolerance, and good citizenship.
Since 2000, UNRWA has taken many steps to supplement the PA curriculum with concepts of human rights, nonviolent conflict resolution, and tolerance.
In 2002, the United States Congress requested the United States Department of State to commission a reputable NGO to conduct a review of the new Palestinian curriculum.
In March 2003, the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI) delivered its report on the new Palestinian curriculum to the US State Department for submission to Congress, stating that the curriculum's overall orientation is peaceful and does not openly incite against Israel and the Jews, hatred, or violence.
In June 2004, IPCRI's follow-up report noted that, except for calls to resist occupation and oppression, no signs were detected of outright promotion of hatred towards Israel, Judaism, or Zionism and that tolerance, as a concept, runs across the new textbooks.
In October 2004, UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen caused controversy in Canada when he made certain comments during an interview with CBC TV.
In 2004, Emanuel Marx and Nitza Nachmias pointed out that many criticisms of UNRWA corresponded to its age, including symptoms of inflexibility and resistance to change.
In 2004, the U.S. Congress requested the General Accounting Office (GAO) to investigate claims that government funding given to UNRWA had been used to support individuals involved in militant activities. The GAO discovered several irregularities in processing and employment history during its investigation.
On 31 March 2005, Hansen was retired from United Nations service against his will after the United States blocked his reappointment.
In 2005 Nathan Brown, Professor of Political Science at George Washington University, reviewed textbooks used by Palestinians, focusing especially on changes starting in 1994.
In 2005, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland joined the UNRWA Advisory Commission (AdCom).
Since 2005, Palestine, the European Union, and the League of Arab States have had observer status at the UNRWA Advisory Commission.
In 2006, the PA Ministry of Education and Higher Education revised textbooks, and international academics concluded that books did not incite violence against Jews but showed imbalance, bias, and inaccuracy.
In 2007, Israel expressed its continued support for UNRWA, noting that despite "concerns regarding the politicization" of the agency, the country supports its humanitarian mission.
In 2007, UNRWA initiated a reform program to improve efficiency within the agency.
In 2007, UNRWA launched the Infrastructure and Camp Improvement Programme (ICIP) to improve spatial and environmental conditions in refugee camps.
In 2007, much of the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon was destroyed due to fighting between Fatah al-Islam militants and the Lebanese Armed Forces.
As of 2008, UNRWA's collection of photographs and films documenting the lives of refugees had grown to around 10,000 photographs, 400,000 negatives, 15,000 colour slides, 75 films, and 400 videotapes.
In 2008, Finland and Ireland joined the UNRWA Advisory Commission (AdCom).
In March 2009, UNRWA strongly denied reports that Hamas won a teachers union election for UN schools in Gaza.
Based on his 2009 analyses for WINEP, former UNRWA general-counsel James G. Lindsay and a fellow researcher for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy made suggestions for UNRWA improvement.
In 2009, Hamas caused UNRWA to suspend a decision to introduce Holocaust studies in its schools.
In 2009, James G. Lindsay published a report criticizing UNRWA practices, concluding that its failure to resettle refugees represents a political decision.
In 2009, John Ging, head of UNRWA Gaza, responded to a critical report by James G. Lindsay, stating, "As for our schools, we use textbooks of the Palestinian Authority. Are they perfect? No, they're not. I can't defend the indefensible."
In 2009, UNESCO added UNRWA's collection of photographs and films to its Memory of the World International Register, recognizing it as documentary heritage of global importance.
In 2009, UNRWA began the reconstruction work at Nahr el-Bared Palestine refugee camp in Lebanon.
In 2009, UNRWA came under criticism from Hamas for teaching Palestinian students Western values and for organizing trips to Holocaust remembrance sites.
In 2009, UNRWA officials spoke of a "dire financial crisis", including a funding shortfall of $200 million, in the wake of the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
In 2009, the US Department of State wrote in its Human Rights report that after a 2006 revision of textbooks by the PA Ministry of Education and Higher Education, international academics concluded that books did not incite violence against Jews but showed imbalance, bias, and inaccuracy.
In January 2010, the Government of Canada announced that it was redirecting aid previously earmarked to UNRWA to projects under the Palestinian Authority.
In October 2010, some suggested that the 2010 Canadian decision to redirect aid from UNRWA also cost Canada international support in its failed effort to obtain a seat on the UN Security Council.
In 2010, Kuwait joined the UNRWA Advisory Commission (AdCom).
In April 2011, The Wall Street Journal Europe published an op-ed by Asaf Romirowsky and Alexander H. Joffe criticizing UNRWA, saying that "it is hard to claim that the UNRWA has created any Palestinian institutions that foster genuinely civil society".
In September 2011 it was reported that, under pressure from Hamas, UNRWA has made all its summer camps single-sex.
In 2011, UNRWA agreed to be assessed by the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN), a network of donor countries to determine the organizational effectiveness of multilateral organizations.
In 2011, UNRWA introduced the Family Health Team (FHT) approach, based on WHO's primary health care values, in its primary health facilities.
In April 2012, Karen Koning AbuZayd, former Commissioner-General of the UNRWA, argued in the Middle East Monitor that "UNRWA needs support not brickbats".
In May 2012, UNRWA endorsed its new Human Rights, Conflict Resolution and Tolerance (HRCRT) Policy to further strengthen human rights education in UNRWA schools.
In 2012, Luxembourg joined the UNRWA Advisory Commission (AdCom).
In 2012, UNRWA began digitizing its archive and making images available online to the public.
In 2012, reports indicated that a staff union election resulted in a significant number of seats going to Palestinians who were either Islamist or sympathetic towards Hamas.
In July 2020 Commissioner-General Lazzarini warned that funding was at its lowest point since 2012.
UNRWA did not operate its summer camps for summer 2012 due to a lack of available funding.
In 2013, Hamas passed a law requiring gender segregation in schools for all pupils nine years of age and older in Gaza. The law does not apply to UNRWA schools.
In 2013, Israeli media outlets reported that UNRWA-funded summer camps were teaching children to engage in violence with Israelis. The video aired speakers telling campers "With God's help and our own strength we will wage war. And with education and Jihad we will return to our homes!" UNRWA denied the claims, stating the video was "grossly misleading" and showed camps not operated by them. They stated the summer camp shown in the West Bank was not affiliated with or organized by UNRWA, and that footage from the camp in Gaza "revealed that absolutely nothing anti-Semitic or inflammatory was done or said".
In 2013, UNRWA canceled its planned marathon in Gaza after Hamas rulers prohibited women from participating in the race.
In 2013, the Council for Religious Institutions in the Holy Land published a report, "Victims of Our Own Narratives? Portrayal of the 'Other' in Israeli and Palestinian School Books", which compared Israeli textbooks to PA textbooks. Israeli schoolbooks were deemed superior to Palestinian ones with regard to preparing children for peace, although various depictions of the "other" as enemy occurred in 75% of Israeli, and in 81% of Palestinian textbooks.
In February 2014, Elhanen Miller reported that Hamas was "bashing" UNRWA's human rights curriculum, saying it included too many examples and values foreign to Palestinian culture.
In March 2014, the Center for Near East Policy Research announced an initiative to reform UNRWA.
On July 31, 2014, David Horovitz argued in the Times of Israel that Israel had legitimate complaints against UNRWA. These complaints included the agency's definition of "refugee" including descendants, its monitoring by Hamas, and the harboring of Hamas operatives and weaponry in its facilities.
In 2014, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates joined the UNRWA Advisory Commission (AdCom).
In 2014, UNRWA released information on key figures related to its operations, though the specific details are not provided in this context.
In 2014, UNRWA took action to mitigate the effects of the 2014 Gaza War on Palestine refugees.
UNRWA did not operate its summer camps for summer 2014 due to a lack of available funding.
According to an internal ethics report, since 2015, UNRWA's senior management allegedly consolidated power at the expense of efficiency, leading to misconduct and nepotism.
In August 2018, the U.S. ceased its contributions to UNRWA, resulting in the loss of $300 million out of the $1.2 billion budget and contributing to an overall deficit of $446 million.
In 2018, UNRWA's Department of Internal Oversight Services and Ethics Division presented an annual report confirming positive assessments of the agency's management and impact.
In 2018, the Trump administration ceased funding UNRWA, citing a "failure to mobilize adequate and appropriate burden sharing" and deeming its business model and fiscal practices "simply unsustainable".
In December 2019, the Netherlands restored its funding, increasing its donation by €6 million for 2019, to €19 million. The EU increased its contribution from €82 million ($92.2 million) by €21 million ($23.3 million), and Germany agreed to fund four new UNRWA projects, totaling €59 million ($65.6 million). Qatar increased its donation for Palestinians in Syria by $20.7 million, bringing the 2019 total to $40 million.
As of 2019, UNRWA's budget was primarily allocated to education (58%), followed by healthcare (15%), and general support services (13%).
As of 2019, more than 5.6 million Palestinians are registered with UNRWA as refugees.
In 2019, an internal ethics report leaked to Al Jazeera alleged that UNRWA's senior management had consolidated power at the expense of efficiency since 2015, leading to misconduct and nepotism.
In 2019, close to 60 percent of UNRWA's pledge of $1 billion came from EU countries, with Germany being the largest individual donor.
In 2019, the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation joined as an observer at the UNRWA Advisory Commission.
In 2019, the funding situation for UNRWA was discussed in April at a "Ministerial Strategic Dialogue" and at a high-level ministerial meeting at the annual meeting of the General Assembly.
In its most recent assessment in 2019, MOPAN commended UNRWA for continuing to increase the efficiency of its programmes.
On March 8, 2020, Philippe Lazzarini of Switzerland was appointed as the Commissioner-General of UNRWA.
In July 2020, Commissioner-General Lazzarini warned that UNRWA's budget was "not sustainable", with shortfalls in four out of the five previous years, and funding at its lowest point since 2012.
As of April 2021, nearly two-thirds (72 percent) of the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp had been reconstructed, enabling 3,550 families to return.
In April 2021, the Biden administration resumed funding for UNRWA.
In September 2021, the European Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee approved withholding 20 million Euros in aid to UNRWA, contingent on immediate changes to UNRWA's education curriculum due to concerns about hate speech and violence.
In 2021, the Australian and Canadian governments started investigating UNRWA, and the British government found that UNRWA had produced and disseminated textbooks inciting violence. UNRWA blocked public access to its website contents in response.
In October 2023, Israel provided intelligence alleging that 18 UNRWA workers participated in the 7 October 2023 attacks.
As of 2023, UNRWA provided an update with key cumulative figures related to its overall operations.
As of 2023, there were 58 official refugee camps for Palestinians with 6 million refugees registered with UNRWA, including 1.37 million in Gaza.
By 2023, some 5.9 million people were registered as eligible for UNRWA services.
In January 2024, the EU suspended funding for UNRWA due to concerns raised against the agency.
On 17 January 2024, the US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller rejected calls to defund UNRWA.
On 1 March 2024, the EU reinstated funding for UNRWA after it had been suspended earlier in January.
On March 1, 2024, the EU reinstated funding for UNRWA.
As of May 2024, several major donors resumed funding UNRWA as the investigation into alleged employee involvement in the October 7 attacks remains ongoing.
On 30 September 2024, UNRWA confirmed that Fatah Sharif, a top Hamas commander killed in an Israeli airstrike, had formerly been on its payroll as a school principal. UNRWA said it had suspended Sharif and started an investigation in March when it learned of the allegation that Sharif was a member of the political wing of Hamas.
In October 2024, Israel's parliament passed a bill designating UNRWA as a terrorist group and prohibiting it from operating within the country.
On 28 October 2024, the Knesset passed legislation ordering UNRWA to cease "any activity" in territories claimed by Israel within 90 days.
In December 2024, as a result of the ban on UNRWA, the UN General Assembly voted to request an advisory opinion from the ICJ regarding "Obligations of Israel in relation to the Presence and Activities of the United Nations, Other International Organizations and Third States in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory".
A review performed in 2024 names using "host-country textbooks with problematic content" as one of the issues with UNRWA's neutrality, stating international assessments of PA textbooks identified bias and antagonistic content.
In 2024, during the Gaza war, the Biden administration suspended funding for UNRWA following Israeli allegations of staff involvement in the October 7 attacks.
In January 2025, David Horovitz published an article titled "Gaza after UNRWA" where he catalogued ties between UNRWA and Hamas and accused the agency of perpetuating intolerance and dooming Gaza.
In January 2025, Israel's ban on UNRWA went into effect.
In February 2025, former hostage Emily Damari alleged she was held in a UNRWA facility for some of her 15-month captivity by Hamas, and UNRWA called for an independent investigation into the misuse of its facilities.
In April 2025, the Trump administration Department of Justice reversed a Biden administration position that UNRWA held immunity from lawsuits in United States courts.
In July 2025, over 200 plaintiffs sued UNRWA in a Washington, D.C., district court, accusing the organization of violating US anti-terrorism laws by supporting Hamas and Hezbollah. They also accused agency staff of direct involvement in terrorist attacks.
In September 2025, AP News reported that women in Gaza during the Gaza War were being exploited by local men, including those affiliated with UNRWA, who promised them aid or employment in exchange for sexual favours.
UNRWA's mandate has been consistently extended since its founding, most recently until 30 June 2026.
Qatar is a country located on the Qatar Peninsula in...
Saudi Arabia officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia KSA is...
Condoleezza Rice is a prominent American diplomat and political scientist...
Germany officially the Federal Republic of Germany is a Central...
Japan is an East Asian island country in the Pacific...
Syria officially the Syrian Arab Republic is a West Asian...
2 months ago Ryan Seacrest announces 'Wheel of Fortune' premiere; Taylor Swift may appear on 'New Heights'.
13 days ago FKA Twigs moves on, but doesn't feel safe, after Shia LaBeouf settlement.
49 minutes ago Kristen Bell and Adam Brody reunite in 'Nobody Wants This' Season 2!
50 minutes ago New Documentary Explores the Life and Career of Martin Scorsese: A Genius?
George Springer is a professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter currently playing for the Toronto Blue Jays Before joining the...
Kevin Gausman is a professional baseball pitcher currently playing for the Toronto Blue Jays in MLB Previously he played for...
Candace Owens is an American political commentator and author known...
Charlie Kirk is an American right-wing political activist entrepreneur and...
Paula White-Cain is a prominent American televangelist and key figure...
XXXTentacion born Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy was a controversial yet...
Chuck Schumer is the senior United States Senator from New...
William Franklin Graham III commonly known as Franklin Graham is...