Watan-The Hebrew newspaper “Haaretz” revealed that Israel has decided to take steps to weaken the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) with the aim of eventually dismantling the agency.
The plan is based on the Israeli security establishment’s assumption that this step will harm the civilian rule of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to a report by “Haaretz”.
The Israeli occupation army presented a plan that will lead to the dissolution of the agency in Gaza and the West Bank by promoting a campaign inside and outside Israel with the help of Israeli government officials. This campaign aims to damage the reputation of the agency alongside exposing the involvement of its employees with Hamas and its military wing.
A decision was also made to strengthen private sector entities willing to assist, in addition to diverting funding away from UNRWA‘s logistics system in order to weaken it.
However, despite this, the Israeli occupation army does not believe that Hamas has disintegrated yet, despite the damage it suffered during the war, as claimed by the Israeli army.
The newspaper explained that it is difficult to ensure in Israel that Hamas does not take aid money transferred to the sector. However, the assumption within the Israeli security establishment indicates that over time, Hamas will find it difficult to manage civilians in Gaza, leading to the aid and its management being taken out of the hands of the movement.
Alternative Plan
So far, and after 5 months since the beginning of the war launched by Israel on Gaza, the Israeli political leadership has not responded to the request of the Israeli Ministry of War to find an alternative to UNRWA.
Also, no organization has been found to assume responsibility for managing civilians in the event of Hamas government overthrow.
Until this moment, there are several alternatives proposed by the Defense Establishment, which are also acceptable to the international community in terms of transferring aid to the Gaza Strip.
The prevailing understanding in Israel indicates that humanitarian aid is no longer in the hands of the army or official entities, but due to the importance of supplying the sector, especially among Americans, the Israeli occupation army realizes that supplying aid to the sector will strengthen the deteriorating international legitimacy for the continuation of the war.