Gaza Herald – The Joint Committee for Palestinian Refugees has expressed deep concern and strong condemnation over the decision by the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to dismiss 70 employees working in the Gaza Strip.
According to the committee, the dismissals were based on allegations and accusations originating from Israeli occupation, without the publication of the results of any independent and transparent legal investigations proving the claims.
In a statement issued on Friday, the committee said the decision constitutes a dangerous precedent that undermines the principles of justice and fairness upon which the United Nations was founded. It also contradicts the well-established legal and humanitarian principle that “a person is innocent until proven guilty.”
The committee added that relying on the Israeli narrative as the basis for such consequential decisions, without clear legal evidence, raises serious questions about the independence of the international institution and its ability to protect its employees from systematic political targeting and incitement campaigns.
It warned that the measure not only harms the employees and their families but also provides Israel with another opportunity to advance its stated objective of weakening UNRWA, damaging its reputation, and undermining its humanitarian and historical mission as an international witness to the Palestinian refugee issue.
The committee stressed that UNRWA was established through a United Nations mandate to serve refugees and defend their rights, not to become an institution that responds to political pressure or acts on unverified allegations. It warned that such actions could pave the way for further targeting of agency employees in the future.
The Joint Committee for Palestinian Refugees reaffirmed its complete rejection of the dismissals, emphasizing that they were based on allegations that have not been legally substantiated. It called on the UNRWA Commissioner-General to immediately reverse the decision and reopen the cases through fair and transparent legal procedures that guarantee the employees’ right to defend themselves.
The committee also urged the United Nations and donor countries to safeguard UNRWA’s independence and prevent the politicization of its administrative decisions. It warned against yielding to Israeli campaigns aimed at discrediting the agency and its staff as a step toward ending its role and undermining the right of return.
Furthermore, the committee stressed that preserving UNRWA’s credibility requires adherence to international law and the principles of justice, rather than responding to political pressure and accusations.
Finally, it called on all Palestinian political, legal, human rights, and trade union institutions to stand united against the dangerous measures, in defense of justice, employee rights, and UNRWA’s historic mission.
