German politicians and media are increasingly calling for the dissolution of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) has already passed a corresponding resolution. Meanwhile, the responsible ministers remain reserved.
The Israeli revelations about the involvement of UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) staff in the Hamas massacre of October 7 have also sparked a debate in Germany about the future of the agency. Several German politicians are now calling for UNRWA to be dissolved, at least in the medium term.
The FDP had already adopted a corresponding motion at its European party conference on Saturday. In their election manifesto for the upcoming EU elections, the Liberals are now officially calling for UNRWA's tasks to be integrated into "proven structures" such as the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Until then, payments should only be resumed "in close coordination with Israel and the USA.".
Union and AfD politicians demand dissolution
Parts of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group are also clearly opposed to a future for UNRWA. Thorsten Frei, parliamentary manager of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, declared that UNRWA is "part of the problem" and should be dissolved. His fellow party member Michael Brand added on Wednesday during the Bundestag's budget debate that the organization is "clearly anti-Israel from the top down, also anti-Semitic, and caught in the veil of Hamas." According to UNRWA, German payments to UNRWA more than increased twenty-fivefold between 2006 and 2020 under Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Jürgen Braun, the AfD's spokesperson for human rights, also called on the German government to advocate for the dissolution of the Palestinian Relief Agency: "The same rules must apply to Palestinians as to everyone else." He pointed out that the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) already exists as an organization to care for refugees worldwide.
Development Minister: "There's nothing that can be done in the short term."
The left wing of the Bundestag is more reserved. Kathrin Vogler of the Left Party said in parliament on Wednesday that she considered it wrong "to hold this entire organization collectively liable for the offenses of individual employees.".
Nils Schmid, foreign policy spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group, declared that UNRWA's work was "indispensable and irreplaceable." His fellow party member Frank Schwabe added that one could discuss "how UNRWA will continue in the future." However, he asserted that there was currently no alternative: "We would otherwise be driving hundreds of thousands of people to starvation."
Over the weekend, the Foreign Office and the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development merely stated that Germany would "temporarily" not approve any new pledges to UNRWA. At the same time, they emphasized that no payments were currently due "in any case." Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) pointed out in the Bundestag on Wednesday that UNRWA is currently "almost the sole" supplier in Gaza. She called on the UN agency to commission an independent investigation.
Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) had previously stated on the program "ntv Frühstart" that UNRWA "really has a problem." She said it must investigate the allegations. However, she added that the refugee agency is also the organization currently providing aid on the ground: "There's absolutely nothing that can be done in the short term." She said she couldn't imagine "that we wouldn't provide further support given the suffering and hardship currently in the region.".
"Hesitation may have cost lives."
The discussion is also being widely covered in the press. Sebastian Leber of the "Tagesspiegel" called for the dissolution of the system after the war. The only inhumane aspect of the current payment freeze, he argued, is "that it comes years too late." This hesitation, he asserted, "must have cost lives."
Felix Rupprecht from the "Bild" newspaper commented that it would be best to demand the dissolution of UNRWA: "Otherwise, the German 'Never again' promise is just an empty phrase."
Jörg Quoos also addressed this historical dimension in the "Berliner Morgenpost" : "The idea is unbearable that UN employees financed by German taxpayers' money could be complicit in the worst attack on Jewish civilians since the Holocaust." Should UNRWA's involvement in terrorism prove to be a major problem, the German government must "redirect aid and increase its commitment through reliable organizations."
"Collective punishment of all Palestinians"
Felix Dachsel, writing for "Der Spiegel," argued that the demands came at the wrong time . He maintained that UNRWA's work is "currently indispensable." He called for the resignation of António Guterres, accusing him of "tactically manipulating the truth" when it comes to Israel. Bernd Dörries, writing for the "Süddeutsche Zeitung," criticized the suspension of payments to UNRWA as "primarily another form of collective punishment for all Palestinians."
In the “Frankfurter Rundschau”, Maria Sterkl identified “a cynical game” being played on the backs of the Palestinians: Germany stops its aid when a scandal comes to light, only to restart it when there is a new controversial issue.
Caroline Turzer, writing in the newspaper "Die Welt," raised the question of "how serious the German government is" about its temporary payment freeze: "Freezing money that wouldn't have flowed anyway is not a decisive signal." The mechanisms of development aid need to be "fundamentally" re-examined.
Meanwhile, the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" shed light on the Swiss head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini . He did what UNRWA chiefs always do: "He insisted that these were regrettable isolated incidents." UNRWA is "clearly incapable of acknowledging and eliminating systemic flaws." It is "so convinced of its own indispensability that it has become immune to criticism."
"No longer part of the solution"
Many commentators also raised fundamental questions about UNRWA. Daniel Deckers, writing for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, analyzed the situation, stating that the UN relief agency is "no longer part of the solution to the Palestinian conflict, but rather part of its perpetuation." He pointed to the fact that refugee status is hereditary. "The Palestinians would be more genuinely helped if they understood: A return is nonsense," Ariane Lemmer also remarked for the tageszeitung ).
Stephan Detjen, however, came to UNRWA's defense on Deutschlandfunk radio: The organization is subject to constant and intensive scrutiny. The accusations are being used "to delegitimize the UN relief agency as a whole." For the Israeli government, the very existence of UNRWA is a scandal, "because the organization contributes to stabilizing Palestinian identity, even in exile, and to keeping alive the memory of the Palestinians' rights enshrined in international law." (Israelnetz)
