President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the United Nations’ Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, will establish a new office in Ankara. He called on Muslim nations to bolster their support for the agency following Israel’s decision to ban it.
Last year, Israel prohibited UNRWA’s operations, alleging that the agency employed individuals affiliated with Hamas, the group responsible for the attacks on October 2023.
Türkiye has condemned Israel’s offensive in Gaza as genocide and deemed its UNRWA ban a breach of international law, especially given the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has left millions displaced and the area devastated.
During a meeting with foreign ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul on Saturday, Erdogan stated that the opening of the UNRWA office in Ankara would strengthen Türkiye’s commitment to the agency.
“We cannot permit UNRWA, which plays a vital role in supporting Palestinian refugees, to be undermined by Israel. We urge our organization and each member state to extend both financial and moral assistance to UNRWA to counter Israel’s strategies,” said Erdogan.
In related developments, a Turkish diplomatic source indicated that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini are anticipated to sign an agreement regarding the new office during the OIC meeting in Istanbul.
From 2023 to 2025, Türkiye has pledged $10 million annually to UNRWA. In addition, for 2024, it has provided an extra $2 million and an additional $3 million through its disaster management authority, AFAD.
Israel has assigned much of the responsibility for distributing the limited aid it permits into Gaza to a newly formed US-backed organization, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. This group operates at three locations under the supervision of Israeli troops. However, the UN has criticized the GHF’s efforts, citing their operations as insufficient, dangerous, and at odds with humanitarian principles of impartiality.
Historically, aid for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents has been primarily managed by UN agencies like UNRWA, which employs thousands of staff across numerous sites throughout the enclave.
