PLO: We reject the dismissal of UNRWA employees and call for urgent funding to be provided

During the meeting, the PLO Executive Committee demanded urgent international action to provide approximately $70 million to cover urgent funding needs and ensure the payment of UNRWA staff salaries during the upcoming months of November and December.

The Executive Committee said in a statement that its meeting discussed "the existential challenges facing refugees and UNRWA's move to dismiss workers and reduce services."

It stressed its "categorical rejection of any move to dismiss large numbers of UNRWA employees in its areas of operation."

The Executive Committee warned of the repercussions of the financial crisis on the agency's ability to continue its services and fulfill its UN mandate.

It emphasized that UNRWA employees "constitute the backbone of the agency."

The Executive Committee considered that their dismissal would not solve the financial crisis, but rather would threaten the continuity of education, health, relief, and social protection services provided to millions of Palestinian refugees.

It warned that reducing these services would increase humanitarian and social burdens in refugee camps, threatening stability in the region.

The Executive Committee stated that funding UNRWA is an "international responsibility" linked to the mandate granted to it by the UN General Assembly, and to the international community's obligations toward Palestinian refugees and their rights until a just solution to their cause is reached in accordance with international resolutions.

It demanded that donor countries "collectively assume the responsibility of providing sufficient and sustainable funding that enables the agency to continue its work and fulfill its obligations."

The Executive Committee also called on the Acting Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Christian Saunders, to "reverse any move to dismiss employees, freeze related measures, and not infringe upon their rights and salaries," and to seek legal and administrative alternatives to overcome the crisis.

It stressed that "UNRWA represents an essential lifeline for Palestinian refugees and cannot be dispensed with or replaced."

It warned that undermining the agency's role or drying up its funding sources threatens the rights of refugees, in addition to its repercussions on regional and international stability.

On Friday, the Palestinian Information Center quoted the President of the General Conference of Local Staff Unions at UNRWA, Riyad Zighan, as saying that the agency's administration intends to proceed with measures to dismiss large numbers of employees in its areas of operation due to the lack of sufficient funding to cover the financial deficit.

Zighan said that Saunders informed him, during a meeting on Thursday, that the administration is leaning toward dismissing a number of workers because it is unable to retain all employees in light of the funding shortage.

On the same day, the General Conference of UNRWA Staff Unions announced its "categorical" rejection of what it described as arbitrary dismissal or mass layoffs, holding the international community and donor countries responsible for fulfilling their obligations toward Palestinian refugees.

On September 24, Saunders said, during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, that UNRWA is facing an exceptional financial crisis and a cash flow deficit of $100 million during 2026.

He warned that the agency will not be able to continue providing its basic services without receiving additional financial support.

He pointed to the adoption of austerity measures that included reducing service hours by 20 percent and cutting the salaries of most local employees.

UNRWA was established by a decision of the UN General Assembly in 1949, relies primarily on voluntary contributions from donor countries, and provides education, health, relief, and protection services to Palestinian refugees in its areas of operation.

The agency's crisis has worsened in recent years, coinciding with an Israeli campaign against it since the outbreak of the war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

In October 2024, the Israeli Knesset passed legislation banning UNRWA's activities within Israel and restricting Israeli authorities' dealings with it, against the backdrop of Israeli accusations that agency employees participated in the events of October 7, 2023.

The United Nations has repeatedly emphasized the necessity for UNRWA to continue its work, while the agency says that targeting it or reducing its capabilities threatens the basic services provided to millions of Palestinian refugees.