Press Releases

BADIL Resource Center releases a short video reflecting Palestinian refugees’ voices on the importance of UNRWA to their right to protection, especially their right to the provision of services, entitled “Cessation of UNRWA: Elimination of Refugees’ Rights”.

Under the umbrella of the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli colonial-apartheid regime has been critically escalating its campaign to dismantle and replace UNRWA. In October 2024, the Israeli Knesset passed two laws that will ultimately result in the end of UNRWA’s existence and operations in Mandatory Palestine—set to come into effect on 28 January 2025. The Israeli regime’s attacks on the Agency have also manifested materially, damaging and destroying almost 200 installations and killing more than 250 UNRWA staff members in Gaza. All of this serves the Israeli regime’s goals to carry out its genocide, forcibly displace those who it has not killed outside the Gaza Strip, and ultimately eliminate both UNRWA and Palestinian refugees’ rights.

The video features Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Lebanon, as they discuss the vital role of UNRWA and its services. They contextualize the latest legislations passed by the Israeli Knesset against UNRWA and highlight the impact the dismantlement of UNRWA will have on their respective communities and the Palestine refugee question at large.

Watch the video to hear directly from Palestinian refugees: