They told Al Jazeera that the institution, founded in 1949, faces an unprecedented existential threat, affecting the very essence of its mandate and its reason for being.

Nidal Al-Azza, director of the Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, stated that the real danger lies not only in the lack of funding, but also in the fact that the United States and Israel are pressuring to replace it with other international or local institutions.

Raed Abu Badawiya, professor of International Law and International Relations at the Arab American University, echoed these criticisms, condemning attempts to “dismantle the collective status of Palestinian refugees and transform it from a collective political situation into an individual, humanitarian, and technical refugee status.”

UNRWA Spokesperson Adnan Abu Hasna asserted that the organization is irreplaceable due to its size, structure, and experience accumulated over decades of work.

Ali Huwaidi, director-general of Commission 302 for the Defense of Palestinian Refugee Rights, believes the US-Israeli campaign against UNRWA aims to deprive it of the financial and political support necessary for its continued operation.

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