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Coverage · Levant

Non-state actor

UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

International bodies UN agency · services to Palestine refugees under Israeli restriction

Last reviewed
2026-10-11

AssessmentModerate confidence

Figures carry their own uncertainty. Population, economic and military-spending data in wartime are estimates, often contested; every figure below shows its as-of date and a confidence grade, and leadership positions reflect the last review date and change without notice.

What this actor is

UNRWA is the UN agency that provides education, health and relief services to Palestine refugees, including in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Israeli law now bars it from operating where Israel governs. Two Knesset laws of October 2024 prohibited its activity in sovereign Israeli territory and contact with it by Israeli state bodies; an amendment of 29 December 2025 extended "contact" to utilities, cutting electricity, water and banking to its facilities, and was applied to East Jerusalem sites in January 2026, according to reporting. On 22 October 2025 the International Court of Justice advised that Israel, as occupying power, must facilitate relief, including by UNRWA, and found Israel's allegations about the agency's neutrality unsubstantiated; the opinion is not binding. The General Assembly extended UNRWA's mandate to 30 June 2029 in December 2025.

Confidence: Moderate Reviewed 2026-10-11

Israeli legislationTwo laws of October 2024 barring UNRWA operations and state contact; amendment of 29 December 2025 (59–7) extending the bar to utilities and bankingAs of 2026-01 · Confidence: Moderate The October 2024 laws took effect at the end of January 2025; that date was not re-verified in this pass. Application to East Jerusalem sites in January 2026 is reported through a petition by the rights group Adalah. Sources: Knesset — legislation and committee records↗ · Established international media reporting
ICJ advisory opinion22 October 2025 — Israel, as occupying power, must ensure basic needs and facilitate relief, including by UNRWA, and must cooperate with the UN; the Court did not find Israel's neutrality allegations substantiatedAs of 2025-10-22 · Confidence: High Advisory and not binding; it states the Court's view of the law. Israel's response was not retrieved. Sources: International Court of Justice — proceedings concerning Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory↗
MandateExtended by the General Assembly to 30 June 2029, in December 2025; Israel and the United States voted againstAs of 2025-12 · Confidence: Moderate Sources: UNRWA situation reports and statements↗ · Established international media reporting
Northern West Bank camps33,362 people remained displaced from the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps at 31 January 2026As of 2026-01-31 · Confidence: High OHCHR thematic report of 4 September 2026, covering December 2024 – January 2026; the camps were under IDF closure orders running to at least August–September 2026. Sources: OHCHR — occupied Palestinian territory reporting↗

Operating constraints

The agency works under three overlapping limits: Israeli law that forbids contact and now utilities, IDF closure of the northern West Bank camps where it ran services, and staff reductions in Gaza — about 600 staff dismissed and salaries cut by 20 per cent, with 70 more Gaza staff terminated in June 2026, according to reporting.

Sources: Knesset — legislation and committee records↗ · OHCHR — occupied Palestinian territory reporting↗ · Established international media reporting

Position in the system

UNRWA is the module's clearest case of an institution whose standing is itself contested: Israel treats it as a body to be excluded, the ICJ treats facilitating it as an obligation of the occupying power, and the General Assembly has renewed it. Resolution 2803 names the UN, the ICRC and the Red Crescent as aid partners of the Board of Peace without naming UNRWA.

Sources: International Court of Justice — proceedings concerning Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory↗ · UN Security Council resolutions, Secretary-General reports and meeting records (Levant)↗ · Knesset — legislation and committee records↗

Not published for UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near EastPosture (objectives, constraints, leverage)

Elsewhere in Levant

Economic profile Gaza West Bank & Jerusalem All Levant profiles
Confidence: Moderate The ICJ opinion, the OHCHR report and resolution 2803 are primary. The Israeli laws, the amendment's application and staff cuts rest on reporting. Sources: UNRWA situation reports and statements↗ · International Court of Justice — proceedings concerning Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory↗ · Knesset — legislation and committee records↗ · OHCHR — occupied Palestinian territory reporting↗ · UN Security Council resolutions, Secretary-General reports and meeting records (Levant)↗ Methodology Corrections Open in Explore

Last reviewed — 2026-10-11

Watch questions this actor bears on

Standing analytical questions whose evidence runs through this actor, each with its latest review. Derived from the Watch object, never restated here.

Connected records

4 records that UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East names, or that name it — every one an explicit reference in a published record, nothing inferred from subject matter.

Relationships1

Standing relationships whose record names this actor as a party, with the type, status and validity the record states.

Named in these events2

Dated events whose record names this actor.

Logistics systems1

Supply and export systems whose record names this actor.