This quarter saw a major dispute between the UNRWA and the personnel that administers its programs in the oPt UNRWA had been facing a financial crunch for some time following the strain on its services placed by the crisis in Syria, and the heightened needs of its beneficiary population in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank. On 11/19, UNRWA Undersecy. Gen. Jeffrey Feltman told the UNSC that due to a $36-million deficit, the agency would be unable to pay 12/2013 salaries to roughly 30,000 employees, including teachers and medical personnel. Two days later, the workers’ union at UNRWA organized a protest (11/21) outside the organization’s offices in Gaza.
By the start of 12/2013, the agency’s Palestinian employees in the West Bank had gone on strike (12/3), demanding a salary raise to put them on par with UNRWA employees in other areas of operation, and paralyzing health, education, and other services in West Bank refugee camps. Almost a mo. later (1/5), it was the turn of UNRWA’s Gaza employees, with the teachers’ union condemning the agency’s termination of employee contracts. As the strikes continued, including hunger strikes by 27 residents of Hebron, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nablus, UNRWA stated publicly that local agency employees were being paid more than 20% above equivalent salaries for PA workers. Pressure increased as popular committees in West Bank refugee camps also shut their doors and halted services (1/6) in protest against UNRWA policies and claims of funding shortfalls from the PA. On 1/8, Hamdallah met with UNRWA Commissioner Gen. Filippo Grandi to discuss the dispute, focusing on the urgent need to reopen schools, closed for over a mo. due to the teachers’ strike. Following the meeting, UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness told reporters that Hamdallah agreed that the impact of the unions’ strikes on refugees had been devastating.
Protests continued throughout 1/2014, including violent clashes with PA security forces. Outside Jalazun and al-Amari r.c., youth blocked roads with burning tires and threw stones at PA forces. One large-scale confrontation on 1/12 ended with 100 demonstrators and 40 police officers wounded. On 1/15, Hamdallah held meetings with reps. of UNRWA’s employees’ union and refugee camp popular committees to discuss a letter from Grandi calling for a suspension of the strike and govt.-mediated talks. Meanwhile, public shows of support for the striking employees continued until the end of the dispute, including a thousand-strong demonstration in Ramallah on 1/27. Hamdallah’s 1/15 meetings set the wheels in motion for a process that ultimately led to an agreement (2/6) between UNRWA’s administration and its employees, and the 2-mos. strike ended the following day (2/7).
UNRWA expressed its gratitude to Abbas, Hamdallah, PA Minister of Labor Ahmed Majdalani, the PLO Dept. of Refugee Affairs, and the Camp Services Committees for helping to resolve the dispute. Neither side claimed victory following the end of the strike. Although the terms of the agreement were not published, Ma’an news agency reported that 53 employees who had been laid off in 12/2013 would be given fixed-term, renewable employment; West Bank employees would be paid the same as those in Gaza; and remaining issues would be dealt with by joint committees sponsored by the Ministry of Labor.
This quarter also saw a major dispute between Israel and the UN over a UNESCOsponsored exhibition that was canceled (1/17) at the last minute after protests from Arab states. “The People, the Book, the Land: 3,500 years of ties between the Jewish people and the land of Israel” had been organized by the Simon Wiesenthal Center along with the govts. of Canada and Montenegro, and set to open at UNESCO’s Paris HQ in 1/2014. UNESCO justified (1/18) the decision on the grounds that proceeding would damage the peace process. Netanyahu, however, condemned (1/19) the agency for indefinitely postponing the exhibition. After intense pressure, UNESCO backtracked and rescheduled (1/27) the event for 06/11.
UN officials issued what have become routine condemnations of Israeli policies in the oPt, with Rawley expressing (12/11 and 1/31) concern over the demolition of Palestinian structures in the Jordan Valley on more than 1 occasion (see “Demolitions and Confiscations”). Rawley also called attention to the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, saying (11/22) on the anniversary of Operation Pillar of Defense that “initial hopes for a significant improvement on the ground” had “not been realized.” On 12/17, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, briefed the UNSC on the latest developments in Israel and the oPt, describing Israeli settlement activity as undermining the chances of establishing a Palestinian state. He said both sides would need to take “bold steps” if 2014 was to be “a moment of truth regarding a two-state solution.”