AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Israel has passed new legislation to cut ties with UNRWA, the U.N. agency providing services to Palestinian refugees. That's caused international concern about the flow of aid to Gaza, and it could affect the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where hundreds of thousands of people could lose vital services. NPR's Scott Neuman reports.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Ba (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS: Ba.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Bu (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS: Bu.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Bi (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS: Bi.
SCOTT NEUMAN, BYLINE: At a primary school inside the Kalandia refugee camp near the city of Ramallah, a classroom full of first grade girls call out their ABCs, or rather their Alif Ba Tas (ph), as they learn the letters of the Arabic alphabet.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS: Zaa, zuu, zi, za, zi (ph).
NEUMAN: They are the granddaughters and great-granddaughters of Palestinian refugees who were forced from their homes in 1948 or 1967. That status has been passed down through the generations. All told, UNRWA operates about 100 schools like this one across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, serving about 45,000 refugee students.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHILDREN SCREAMING)
NEUMAN: In a courtyard outside, some older girls are playing a version of musical chairs using hula hoops. Also in the courtyard is the school principal, Rana Nabern (ph).
RANA NABERN: (Non-English language spoken).
NEUMAN: "Life for these students isn't easy," she explains. Refugees face a lot of social and economic pressures. If it weren't for the school and UNRWA, she says, many of them might not be receiving an education at all.
NABERN: (Non-English language spoken).
NEUMAN: "I don't believe there is any replacement for UNRWA," she says. That's something heard repeatedly in the West Bank. Besides education, the agency provides a wide range of services that many refugees rely on. Not far from the girls school is an UNRWA vocational center, where 15- to 18-year-olds learn to become diesel mechanics, electricians and plumbers. In a classroom with about a dozen tables, students are focused on project boards, running wire between circuit breakers, outlets and switches.
NORADIN SABAHI: (Non-English language spoken).
NEUMAN: Eighteen-year-old Noradin Sabahi (ph) explains that it simulates a bathroom installation. For many refugee students like him, UNRWA is the only chance they'll get to learn skills like these. Elsewhere, similar programs are simply unaffordable.
SABAHI: (Non-English language spoken).
NEUMAN: "If UNRWA is forced to close this center, many students will be left without options," he says.
SABAHI: (Non-English language spoken).
NEUMAN: That fear is well grounded. In January, Israel accused UNRWA staff in Gaza of taking part in Hamas' attack on October 7 last year, bolstering long-held claims by Israel's right wing that the agency had been compromised. In response, UNRWA swiftly fired a dozen employees. However, Israel has not publicly released evidence to back its claim. Boaz Bismuth is a member of the Knesset from the ruling Likud party.
BOAZ BISMUTH: I have seen the proof, and we don't speak of tens. We speak of hundreds of UNRWA agent who are - belong to Hamas, have been registered for Hamas.
NEUMAN: The legislation banning Israel from cooperating with UNRWA will go into effect in January. The fear now is that it could effectively shutter the agency's operations in the West Bank. Bismuth says Israel or some other aid organization will step in to fill the void left by UNRWA, but others are skeptical.
PAUL SPIEGEL: My concern is that the situation will get even worse.
NEUMAN: Paul Spiegel is director of the Center for Humanitarian Health at Johns Hopkins University. He says he has not heard of any concrete plans for what comes next.
SPIEGEL: UNRWA has had years of their logistics and of their people in the field. You can't just replace that overnight.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHILD CRYING)
NEUMAN: Inside a clinic run by UNRWA, 60-year-old widow Itaf Shahada (ph) waits patiently to be called for an appointment. She's been receiving UNRWA services for 23 years.
ITAF SHAHADA: (Through interpreter) I've got high pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, osteoporosis. For poor people like us, UNRWA is like an artery. It's what keeps us alive.
NEUMAN: Seated nearby is Hiam Hawaren (ph), who holds her 7-month-old, dressed in a pink onesie. The girl looks small for her age. She's barely 9 pounds, and she's been losing weight.
HIAM HAWAREN: (Through interpreter) She was born with only one kidney. I brought her in because she has a cough.
NEUMAN: Hawaren reveals that she isn't actually a refugee, but she's come to the clinic in desperation.
HAWAREN: (Through interpreter) My husband used to work in Israel, but he lost his job, and we lost our insurance.
MAJIDA NASSER: (Non-English language spoken).
NEUMAN: Majida Nasser (ph) is a physician who worked in this clinic for more than 25 years. Today, she's training student doctors. She says they won't turn the woman and her baby away, but since she doesn't have refugee status, there's a limit to what they can provide her. Still, she says, it's not uncommon for nonrefugees to show up hoping for treatment.
NASSER: (Non-English language spoken).
NEUMAN: "The Palestinian people, not just refugees, view UNRWA as a savior," she says. "They have nowhere else to go."
Scott Neuman, NPR News, Kalandia refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
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