UNRWA Deputy Commissioner-General Natalie Boucly is convinced that the European Union has an important role to play in the reconstruction and stabilisation of the Gaza Strip. She is responding to accusations that Hamas has infiltrated the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. (Interview in English by Mathieu Bion)
Agence Europe - What are the most pressing needs of the population in Gaza? How do you respond to these needs?
Natalie Boucly - UNRWA has never left the Gaza Strip. Its 12,000 employees and more than 1,000 medical staff have been there throughout the war.
The needs are immense. They have not decreased with the ceasefire. At least 60% of homes are destroyed. More than 80% of the infrastructure has been somehow damaged.
Before the war, between 500 or 600 truckloads of items used to come in everyday. We are nowhere near these figures. The UN, excluding UNRWA, brings in some aid, but is facing a lot of red tape, administrative constraints imposed by the State of Israel.
Israel’s broad interpretation of what constitutes dual-use items stops key goods at the crossing points, making it impossible to operate at the scale required to meet Gaza’s basic needs.
We now have 40,000 children to whom UNRWA is providing some learning: basic maths, basic literacy, singing, playing. But pens and notebooks are not allowed into Gaza because it appears, from the point of view of the Israelis, that these are not life-saving.
And the administrative constraints are not only with the dual use items list, it’s also with the checking, the offloading, and then reloading of trucks.
Regarding medical items, do you face the same situation?
Yes. For example, scalpels are not allowed in.
So the dual use items issue is not only about what’s lifesaving or not. It’s mostly about what can be used as a weapon. Throughout the war, crutches were not allowed in...
And UNRWA is not allowed to bring humanitarian personnel or supplies into Gaza because of two laws passed in the Israeli Parliament. One law forbids any activity in East Jerusalem, which is why the Israelis have closed our six schools there. The other law forbids any contact by the Israeli Authorities with UNRWA.
These laws have a huge impact. The Israelis refuse to process UNRWA documents. For the polio vaccination campaigns we are working with other UN agencies. UNICEF brings in the vaccine, WHO delivers the cold chain, and we use our infrastructure and our health workers to vaccinate children.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has clearly said that the State of Israel has an obligation to let aid in from the UN, including UNRWA. And it recognised the key role UNRWA plays in the Gaza Strip because of its extensive staffing network and community acceptance.
Did the ICJ ruling change anything in the way the Israeli government acts?
No change at all. This is where we expect Member States to put pressure on Israel because the ICJ opinion is not binding.
What’s the situation with the EUBAM Rafah crossing where the EU has a presence?
The crossing is closed. There is a role that the European Union should play in terms of the ceasefire and, with the comprehensive plan by President Trump, in terms of governance and security of the Strip.
On Thursday, the European Union will host a Palestine Donor Group meeting, where participants will look into the Palestine Authority’s role and reflect on the potential support by the EU and others.
Having worked with the EU in Africa, I know that the EU has the expertise, the experience and the tools to really support governance systems, but also security and police systems, in order to help achieve a lasting peace in Gaza.
Do you feel a willingness from the EU Member States to be part of it?
Absolutely. Even a sense of urgency. After the first phase of the ceasefire, the second phase will be the reconstruction of Gaza. It’s going to take a lot of years to remove the rubble, the unexploded items.
But there is also a need to reconstruct the social fabric and the governance of the Strip. Who will enforce law and order in the Strip?
There are also issues with the ‘alternative safe communities’ that the Israelis and the US are looking into creating, beyond the ‘yellow line’ that is now dividing the Strip. The problem is that most of the people are behind the yellow line. And who would police all this?
There are huge issues regarding local ownership, getting the Palestinian Authority involved. This is where the EU has a role to play.
What is needed is good governance of the Strip in accordance with international law, and tested methods of State capacity building in a post-conflict area. The EU has supported it in many countries.
Ultimately, you want the Israelis and the Palestinians to live in peace. And for that, you need to have a pathway towards a two-state solution or a political solution of some kind.
Israel and some EU States accused UNRWA of being infiltrated by Hamas...
Somebody who does not act in accordance with the UN values, the staff regulations and our codes of ethics has no place in the United Nations.
But we don’t have a police force, nor intelligence services. If a Member State or an organisation makes an allegation, then they must give us the evidence.
On the allegations made in January 2024, that 12 staff members, and later another 7, had allegedly taken part in the horrific ‘October 7’ attack, we took action immediately. Their contracts were terminated and the matters were referred for investigation to the highest oversight body in New York (OIOS).
The conclusions were that in one case, no evidence was obtained by OIOS to support the allegations. In nine other cases, the evidence obtained was insufficient to support the staff members’ involvement. For the remaining nice cases, the evidence might indicate involvement, but it was never authenticated nor corroborated.
Israel also had an opportunity to give evidence to the ICJ, but they didn’t.
So the Court concluded that there was insufficient information to establish UNRWA’s lack of neutrality and and found that Israel had not substantiated its allegations that a significant part of UNRWA employees are members of Hamas.
What about the recent report from the NGO UN WATCH?
UN WATCH produces a lot of reports that are part of a wider disinformation campaign with the aim to discredit and dismantle the Agency.
Often, they use the same information in a different way. In their latest report, there were allegations against 31 staff members. Eight of them were immediately referred for investigation. The others were old cases that were investigated in the past. 13 of them are no longer employees.
This disinformation puts the safety of our UNRWA colleagues - including those on the humanitarian front lines in Gaza - at a serious risk.
Can you describe the measures that you have taken?
In April 2024, the Colonna report made 50 recommendations (see EUROPE 13571/5). We have already achieved 40% completion and we expect 80% of all recommendations to be implemented by the end of 2026.
Regarding education, UNRWA uses the national curriculum in line with international standards in refugee contexts. The Agency conducts every year a full review of the schoolbooks used in its schools to ensure that what is taught is in line with UN values and UNESCO standards.
The use of host country’s textbooks helps students access further education (beyond grade nine) and future employment. The Agency supplements these textbooks with its own material including a human rights programme.
The State of Israel takes issue with the textbooks, Hamas also takes issue with the Agency’s education programme because they really dislike that we promote gender parity and equality, human rights, peace and tolerance in our schools.
We replace any problematic content with self-learning materials developed by the Agency.
The Colonna report helps in addressing concerns regarding textbooks. We’re getting more class observations on how the teachers teach.
It is important to say that, at the moment, we are not using the textbooks in Gaza because there’s no formal education. We are only providing education through our own material.
After these allegations, some EU States stopped their financial contributions. Is the situation back to normal?
Many countries suspended funding. They all came back within three, four months, except the US and Sweden.
The EU is our largest donor. It’s not only financial, it’s also all the support they provide in terms of in-kind, staffing and political support.
Recently, the European Parliament has called for increased funding to UNRWA as part of the EU budget for 2026. In a resolution, it emphasised the vital role that the Agency plays in delivering aid and essential services to Palestine refugees in our five fields of operation [Gaza, West Bank including East Jerusalem, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Editor’s note].
How do you feel about this new trend of weakening or even ignoring international law we are witnessing?
As a lawyer who specialised initially in international law, I find it quite worrying that the principles that framed the rules-based order in the aftermath of the Second World War are now being rolled back.
It’s a dangerous trend.