Reading Anne Irfan’s study on Palestinians and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) at a time when Israel is committing genocide in Gaza illustrates how the allegedly apolitical premise of the UN cannot translate to neutrality, given that the agency is enmeshed with the UN, its donors and the Palestinian people themselves. While UNRWA’s mandate was primarily restricted to offering aid on a temporary basis, Israeli colonialism and the Israeli government’s refusal to allow Palestinians to return to their home transformed UNRWA. Mainly funded by powerful countries that hold a seat at the UN Security Council, Irfan’s book traces various strands of history and how these intertwine with internationalism, imperialism, Israeli colonisation and Palestinian refugees. Following … Continue reading Refuge and Resistance: Palestinians and the International Refugee System