The board stated on Wednesday it wanted to end what it described as Palestinians' “continued dependence on aid,” arguing that Gaza’s population “deserves better” under a new post-war governance framework.
The statement was immediately rejected by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, which described UNRWA as an “indispensable lifeline” for Palestinian refugees and an irreplaceable UN institution providing education, healthcare, protection, and emergency assistance.
The ministry also rejected references to a “new Gaza” and “people of Gaza”, saying the terms sought to separate the strip from its wider Palestinian political, demographic, and geographic identity.
The League of Arab States also condemned the remarks, saying they lacked any legal or humanitarian basis and stressing that UNRWA’s mandate could only be amended or terminated by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The organization said the agency was established under UNGA Resolution 302 of 1949 and that its mandate is periodically renewed by member states, rendering any unilateral attempts to replace or diminish its role legally invalid.
On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres UNRWA’s work and called on international donors to “sustains its work” to “cover the needs of Palestinian refugees.”
“For generations, Palestinian refugees have relied on UNRWA for essential support and services. UNRWA is essential for preserving the humanitarian conditions necessary for a just and lasting political solution with two States—Israel and Palestine—living side by side in peace and security,” Guterres stated.
On previous occasions, the Secretary-General himself had acknowledged that he collaborated “actively” with the Peace Board for Gaza. However, he has always described this body as a “personal project” of the US President Donald Trump.
The Resistance Committees in Palestine stated on Wednesday, asserting that the remarks from the US-sponsored “Board of Peace” on eliminating UNRWA’s role in post-war Gaza exposed the complicity of this council and its members with the Israeli occupation regime.
The committees described the Board’s “New Gaza” plan as a “comprehensive destruction project.” They warned that it targets both the Palestinian people and their political cause, reducing their national liberation struggle to a mere humanitarian aid issue.
The committees accused the board of seeking to impose political fait accomplis on the ground that strips the Palestinian cause of its essence as a national struggle against the Israeli occupation.
“Dismantling UNRWA is a systematic political scheme aimed at erasing the Palestinian refugee issue and abolishing the right of return enshrined in UN resolutions,” the committees underlined.
The committees stressed that maintaining the presence of UNRWA in Gaza is an inalienable Palestinian right that no party can revoke or end, as the agency’s mandate is directly tied to a permanent resolution of the Palestinian cause.
US President Donald Trump proposed the Board of Peace in September 2025 as part of a broader initiative to end the Israeli war on Gaza, which was later endorsed by the UN Security Council (UNSC) under Resolution 2803 that same year.
According to its charter, the body seeks to rebuild governance, promote stability and establish lasting peace in conflict zones, while advocating alternatives to existing international mechanisms.
UNRWA, established in December 1949, provides relief, education, healthcare, and social services to around 5.9 million registered Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and East Jerusalem, as well as in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon,
This includes more than 1.5 million people living in 58 recognized refugee camps across its five areas of operation, where it operates schools, health centres, and infrastructure.
Israel has for years advanced false allegations against UNRWA as part of a sustained effort to discredit the agency's work and undermine its mandate. Since the start of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, these efforts have intensified into a broader campaign to delegitimize and dismantle UNRWA.
During its genocidal war, Israel has killed at least 382 UNRWA staff and bombed tens of its facilities used for shelter by displaced Palestinians.
Israeli occupation forces have also bulldozed UNRWA's headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem and announced plans to build a military complex on the site instead.
In 2024, in defiance of international law that safeguards refugee rights, Israel unilaterally de-recognized the UNRWA in 2024 and banned its representatives from operating in the occupied Palestinian territories.
UNRWA’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, said the measures were part of a broader effort by the Israeli authorities to “erase the Palestine refugee identity.”
Palestinian officials said replacing the agency would have consequences extending well beyond humanitarian assistance because it remains the only UN body specifically mandated to serve Palestinian refugees pending a political settlement.
Hani Al Masri, director of the Palestinian Centre for Policy Research and Strategic Studies (Masarat), said the proposal represented “a continuation” of longstanding US and Israeli efforts to eliminate the agency.
“The United States and Israel have adopted the project to eliminate UNRWA for years, and what is happening today is a continuation of that path,” he said.
Ahmed Rafiq Awad, director of the Jerusalem Centre for Studies at Al-Quds University, said excluding the agency from Gaza would violate international law and undermine the institution that has served for decades as “the legal, humanitarian and relief umbrella” for Palestinian refugees.
He warned that replacing UNRWA with the Board of Peace risked turning humanitarian assistance into “an instrument of control and subjugation”.
Similarly, Suleiman Basharat, director of Yabous for Consulting and Strategic Studies, said the board's announcement suggested a broader effort to replace international institutions dealing with the Palestinian issue.
Last December, the UNGA adopted a resolution on assistance to Palestinian refugees and the renewal of the UNRWA mandate till June 2029.
The resolution reaffirmed the necessity of UNRWA operations and called for its work to continue unhindered until a just solution to the Palestinian refugee issue is reached.
Under international law, Palestinian refugees, who were expelled and dispossessed by Israel from their homes in historic Palestine in 1948 and 1967, have the right to return to their homeland.
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