After UNRWA... Are We Facing a Redefinition of the Palestinian Cause?

When discussing the end of UNRWA's role in Gaza, the debate should not be limited to the question: Who will distribute aid or manage services? This represents a partial reading of a much larger issue. The real question is: What will happen to the Palestinian cause when the institution that has been legally and politically associated with the refugees is replaced by a new system for managing the population and reconstruction?

UNRWA, despite all the criticisms it has faced, was not just a relief agency; it has served for more than seven decades as an international witness to the existence of the Palestinian refugee issue, linking the international community to its historical responsibility towards them. Therefore, ending its role does not simply mean replacing one institution with another, but it may open the door to redefining the legal and political identity of the Palestinian refugee.

Conversely, a new international discourse is emerging that speaks of "New Gaza," "recovery," "development," and "ending dependency on aid." These objectives appear positive at first glance, but the problem arises when development becomes a substitute for political rights, reconstruction replaces the political solution, and security stability serves as a substitute for ending the occupation.

More dangerously, any large-scale reconstruction project requires comprehensive databases of the population, property, needs, maps, and infrastructure. Those who possess this data largely hold the tools for planning, resource allocation, and future priorities. Here, data becomes not a technical issue but rather a matter of sovereignty and national decision.

Moreover, marginalizing Palestinian institutions and expertise in managing the upcoming phase poses strategic risks. Instead of the Palestinians being partners in shaping their future, they may become recipients of policies being crafted in donor capitals, based on security and political considerations that do not necessarily reflect Palestinian national priorities.

This concern intensifies when the reconstruction process itself is conditioned by the security situation. At any moment, funding can be suspended or projects halted under the pretext of security deterioration or lack of stability, which places the future of millions of Palestinians hostage to decisions over which they have no influence. This means that reconstruction, instead of being a gateway to independence, could turn into a state of permanent dependency on the outside.

In the long term, this path could lead to a profound transformation in the nature of the Palestinian cause; from a cause of a people struggling for self-determination, the return of refugees, and the establishment of their state, to a matter of residents needing administration, services, development, and stability. At that point, discussions about political rights may become less prominent while the language of projects, governance, and crisis management takes precedence.

This does not imply rejecting reconstruction or diminishing the importance of improving living conditions; Gaza needs reconstruction now more than ever. However, reconstruction should be a means to enhance the resilience of Palestinians and protect their rights, not a gateway to redefine or circumvent those rights.

The most dangerous challenge Gaza may face in the coming years is not a lack of funding, but the absence of a national vision capable of managing this phase. History teaches us that peoples do not lose their causes all at once, but they may lose them gradually when political rights are substituted by administrative solutions, and national issues are reduced to humanitarian programs, no matter how necessary they may be.

Therefore, the real challenge lies not in the question: Who will reconstruct Gaza? But rather in a more important question: Who will draw its future, with what vision, and for the benefit of which political project? The answer to this question will determine whether reconstruction will be the beginning of national recovery or the start of reshaping the Palestinian cause in a different image.