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The recent funding freeze by major donors threatened to be the death knell for UNRWA, the agency supporting nearly six million Palestinian refugees that has struggled for years to finance its activities.
Yet there is a reluctance to let it go under – at least in the short term – even among nations that have sought its dissolution, including Israel, officials say.
The funding freezes followed Israeli allegations that a handful of UNRWA staff took part in the October 7 attacks by Hamas on southern Israel.
While those accusations are under review by a UN panel, the more immediate impact will be on the agency's ability to continue helping Palestinians in Gaza through the humanitarians crisis created by Israel's war in the territory.
The collapse of UNRWA would deprive millions of Palestinians, not just in Gaza but also in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, of aid, financial support and the healthcare and education services that the agency provides.
However, it would be a political victory for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long called for an alternative to UNRWA, and for his far-right government.
Despite the torrent of Israeli criticism and allegations over the years, the view that the agency is too important to fail has prevailed.
Behind closed doors, even western countries who are allied with Israel are signalling that they would prefer that UNRWA, however flawed, continues assisting Palestinians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and elsewhere, to prevent further instability in Middle East.
Political and financial pressure
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini acknowledged the pressure on his agency during a visit to Jerusalem on Friday, saying he felt compelled to immediately sack nine of the employees implicated by Israel, instead of the normal practice of suspending them pending an investigation.
“Knowing that the organisation is under fierce and ugly attacks, I could not take the risk,” Mr Lazzarini said. “I could have suspended them, but I fired them.”
Two other employees accused by Israel are reportedly dead, and there is uncertainty about the whereabouts of the third.
The UN is investigating Israel's claims, but even before they emerged Mr Lazzarini had announced a review of the agency's neutrality in mid-January, with former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna appointed as its head this month.
According to three officials in western donor countries who deal with UNRWA, the agency has for years underestimated the Israeli lobby, not only in the US but also in Europe.
The lobby has been arguing for years that UNRWA staff are biased and that the education material in its schools promotes hatred.
“UNRWA have not been helping themselves. Their reactions have not been the best,” said one of the officials, who spoke to The National on condition of anonymity. “You cannot just imply that the issue only concerns a few bad apples, although UNRWA did fire those people and launch an investigation,” he said.
“With so many staff in Gaza, it is plausible that a significant number of them are pro-Hamas. The question should be whether there is something systematic within UNRWA to promote this.”
Struggle to stay afloat
UNRWA was struggling financially even before the Israeli allegations prompted major donors such as the US, Germany and Britain to suspend funding. The agency said last year that it started 2023 with a debts of $75 million carried over from 2022.
“You could say for the past decade, UNRWA has been going through a deep financial crisis for a number of reasons,” said Juliette Touma, UNRWA's Director of Communications.
One issue is UNRWA's financing model – it is an agency without a reserve, meaning it does not have a resource to tap into in an emergency.
“It's not a predictable and sustainable funding model,” Ms Touma said. For instance, only a handful of donors do so on a multiyear basis.
UNRWA suffered a major blow when the US, its biggest donor, slashed funding in 2018 on then-president Donald Trump's orders, although his successor, Joe Biden, restored the funding after taking office in 2020.
No viable alternative
The western officials who spoke to The National said that despite rising calls for the de facto destruction of UNRWA from legislators and other public figures in Europe and the US, no one wants to deal with the consequences, and that, they predict, will save the organisation.
One of the officials said there was “a lot of wheeling and dealing” in western capitals to find ways for the funding freeze not to affect UNRWA’s operations in the next three months, with most donors having released enough funds before the freeze to keep them running in the short term.
Another official said “the only thing stopping UNRWA from collapsing is that the West does not want to escalate the conflict by deepening the humanitarian disaster”.
“There is no other organisation within the international system to replace UNRWA,” he said.
He pointed out that the UNHCR, the UN's refugee agency, was seen as unsuitable because “it has done a lot of blunders in Syria”, by dealing with the regime of Bashar Al Assad. “There is no UN organisation that is clean.”
Another ray of hope of for UNRWA's continued existence is a split within the Israeli establishment on whether dismantling would be advantageous to Israel, according to the western officials.
Although Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly called for UNRWA to be replaced, Israeli security officials have been urging western nations to keep up the financing.
“They have made it clear that Israel has no readiness to jump into this as international law requires,” one of the officials said, referring to Israel's humanitarian obligations as an occupying power.
“There is a very strong split within the Israeli political system and security establishment.”
Deep-rooted suspicion
Israel has long objected to the existence of UNRWA, but more so as its governments shifted ever more to the right.
Its opposition is rooted in a long-term goal to undermine the right of return of Palestinians who fled or were forced to leave during Israel's creation in 1948.
However, the new allegations stem from a desire to deflect attention from its war in Gaza, according to multiple sources in the West and the Middle East.
They said that the allegations were released as the International Court of Justice delivered its initial opinion in the genocide case against Israel.
One of the officials said UNRWA had to address all Israeli allegations “however outrageous” because since October 7, fewer leaders in donor countries were willing “to spend political capital” in its defence.
An Arab official who deals with UNRWA said that although the organisation has come to be seen as a vehicle for Palestinian advancement, mainly by virtue of providing them with schooling, its existence had no bearing on the right of return.
“What the Israeli officials don’t get is that the right of return is an individual right that precedes UNRWA,” he said, pointing out international conventions and norms that pre-date UNRWA’s establishment in 1949.
“Even if UNRWA goes away, the right of return will not.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
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Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 420 bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: from Dh293,200
On sale: now
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Fight card
1. Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) v Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK)
2. Featherweight: Hussein Salim (IRQ) v Shakhriyor Juraev (UZB)
3. Catchweight 80kg: Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Khamza Yamadaev (RUS)
4. Lightweight: Ho Taek-oh (KOR) v Ronald Girones (CUB)
5. Lightweight: Arthur Zaynukov (RUS) v Damien Lapilus (FRA)
6. Bantamweight: Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) v Furkatbek Yokubov (RUS)
7. Featherweight: Movlid Khaybulaev (RUS) v Zaka Fatullazade (AZE)
8. Flyweight: Shannon Ross (TUR) v Donovon Freelow (USA)
9. Lightweight: Mohammad Yahya (UAE) v Dan Collins (GBR)
10. Catchweight 73kg: Islam Mamedov (RUS) v Martun Mezhulmyan (ARM)
11. Bantamweight World title: Jaures Dea (CAM) v Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
12. Flyweight World title: Manon Fiorot (FRA) v Gabriela Campo (ARG)
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Griselda
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
