Palestinians, UNWRA, and the international refugee system

Anne Irfan
Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Race, Gender and Postcolonial Studies
University College London

Since Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023, Israel has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza, in a war widely recognized as genocidal.

With a shaky ceasefire now in place, the Israeli parliament has intensified the crisis by criminalising the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The agency is the primary service provider for Palestinians and runs schools, hospitals and relief services across the Middle East. The United States has now banned any US funding for UNRWA as part of its plans for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.

Amidst accusations of UN antisemitism and support for terrorism, the question remains: what is UNRWA and why does its role matter?

Drawing on original research at UNRWA’s usually closed archive, this talk will examine the agency’s history and politics to explain its significance. In the process, it will debunk contemporary myths about the UN’s role in Palestine – and explain why refugee rights remain central to understanding the Middle East.

Dr Anne Irfan is Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Race, Gender and Postcolonial Studies at University College London (UCL). She is author of the book Refuge and Resistance: Palestinians and the international refugee system (Columbia University Press, 2023) and has written extensively on Palestinian refugee history and politics. 

Moderator: Pelle Valentin Olsen, Associate Professor, UiB