‘Peace Council’ says UNRWA has no role in ‘new Gaza’

The Peace Council in Gaza said on Wednesday that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees will have no role in what it described as a “New Gaza,” signalling its intention to replace the long-standing aid model with a new governance framework.

In a statement posted on its account on X, the council said it aims to end what it described as “continued dependence on aid,” adding that “the people of Gaza deserve more.”

The statement was accompanied by a video featuring remarks by US Ambassador to the United Nations Jeff Bartos, who addressed member states during a UN meeting on Tuesday.

Bartos said the UN Security Council had approved, by what he described as an “overwhelming majority,” the establishment of the Peace Council and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.

“You now have a choice between funding incitement, terrorism and stagnation, or funding the Peace Council,” Bartos said.

He argued that supporting the Peace Council would provide Gazans with “a path toward peace, prosperity and real, lasting change.”

“The choice is yours, and history will not forget,” he added.

The Peace Council was established in January under the post-war Gaza plan announced by US President Donald Trump.

The statement comes as the future role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) remains the subject of international debate.

UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 following the displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and began operations in 1950.

The agency currently provides education, healthcare, social services and humanitarian assistance to millions of Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.