Palestinian Archbishop Atallah Hanna warns of ‘demonisation’ campaign targeting UNRWA

Archbishop Atallah Hanna, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia, has warned of a “systematic” campaign aimed at demonising the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), including attempts to portray it as a “terrorist organisation”.

In a statement published on his Facebook page on Wednesday, Archbishop Hanna said the campaign targets a UN humanitarian agency that has played a central role in serving Palestinian refugees since the 1948 Nakba.

He said that the takeover of UNRWA’s headquarters in Jerusalem and the expulsion of its employees reflect “an unjustified hostility towards an international organisation that witnessed the Nakba and carries the memory of the suffering of the Palestinian people”.

Archbishop Hanna added that the incitement against UNRWA continues despite its longstanding relief and humanitarian work since 1948, particularly in refugee camps. He described the targeting of the agency as part of broader attempts to erase the Palestinian refugee issue and undermine refugees’ historical rights.

He called on Arab states and supporters of the Palestinian people around the world to take urgent action to halt the incitement campaign, stressing that UNRWA’s role has become even more critical in light of the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Archbishop Hanna said the agency’s founding mandate remains fully valid, noting that “the consequences of the 1948 Nakba are still before us”, and that Palestinians have endured “a new Nakba in Gaza”, alongside ongoing developments in the occupied West Bank.

He concluded by urging the rejection and condemnation of all forms of incitement against UNRWA, and called for the protection of its humanitarian and relief mission “during these painful and sorrowful times that our people are going through”.