3. Conditions for Palestinians in UNRWA’s Area of Operation and Neighboring States Conditions in UNRWA’s area of operation are dire for many Palestinians and can accurately be described as humanitarian crises in most areas. Events in the region and the policies of some governments, combined with UNRWA’s continuing funding crisis and inability to meet the needs of Palestinians, have resulted in extreme hardship for many.36 As discussed in BADIL’s 2015 Handbook, the Arab Spring brought increased repression and harsh consequences for many Palestinians in the Arab countries. The Syrian war led to forced displacement and abuse of many Palestinians, and some states in the region closed their borders to Palestinians.37 The Egyptian Government takes the position that “Palestinian refugees [in Egypt] cannot receive UNHCR assistance or protection because they fall under the mandate of UNRWA, despite the fact that Egypt is not one of UNRWA’s fields of operation … [and] the Egyptian government does not allow UNRWA to operate in anything more than a symbolic capacity.”38 Palestinians in Gulf countries (e.g., UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait) are often allowed to reside in the country only if they have a valid work permit, and only for the duration of their employment. They are very vulnerable to losing employment, and with it, their permission to reside.39 Israel, as documented by numerous organisations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, continues to commit systematic human rights violations and crimes against Palestinians, including through discriminatory treatment, bombings, destruction of homes and other buildings, forced evictions, and border closures.40 A snapshot of some of the difficulties Palestinians face in UNRWA’s area of operation follows, but is by no means comprehensive. West Bank: Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. The Palestinian Authority has limited governance over parts of the West Bank, but there are restrictions in moving between different areas. There are approximately 775,000 Palestinians registered with UNRWA in the West Bank.41 They have various types of residence status. Since 1967, Israel has revoked the residence permits of approximately 250,000 Palestinians living in this area.42 The conditions are extremely difficult and include routine threats of death, injury, eviction, displacement, house demolition, and other harm by the Israeli military.43 A UN Special Rapporteur has observed that Israel systematically violates international law relating to the duties 36 See eg Patrick Wintour, ‘UN Palestine refugee aid agency ‘close to collapse’ after funding cuts’ (The Guardian, 5 Nov 2021) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/05/un-palestine-aid-agency-is-close-to-collapse-after-funding-cuts [accessed 30 June 2022]; and UNICEF, State of Palestine Humanitarian Situation Report No. 2 - Mid Year 1 January - 31 July 2021 (25 Aug 2021) https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/unicef-state-palestine-humanitarian-situationreport-no-2-mid. 37 BADIL, Closing Protection Gaps, n 11, xiii-xiv. 38 Tom Rollins, ‘Syria’s Palestinians: A New Nakba’ (March 2021) https://www.statelessness.eu/updates/blog/syrias-palestiniansnew-nakba, S. 4. 39 See Jo Bezzano and Judith Carter, ‘Statelessness in Practice: Implementation of the UK Statelessness Application Procedure’, (Electronic Immigration Network, 10 July 2018) https://www.scribd.com/document/383529481/Statelessness-in-PracticeImplementation-of-the-UK-Statelessness-Application-Procedure, 21. 40 See Amnesty International, Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians: a cruel system of domination and a crime against humanity (1 Feb 2022) https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/02/israels-apartheid-against-palestinians-a-cruel-system-ofdomination-and-a-crime-against-humanity/ [accessed 30 June 2022]; Human Rights Watch, A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution (27 Apr 2021) https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/thresholdcrossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution [accessed 30 June 2022]; and see ‘Imminent humanitarian disaster to befall on Gaza as Israel’s military attack continues’ (Euro-Med Monitor, 17 May 2021) https://reliefweb.int/ report/occupied-palestinian-territory/imminent-humanitarian-disaster-befall-gaza-israel-s-military [accessed 30 June 2022].; International Crisis Group, ‘Beyond Business as Usual in Israel-Palestine’ (Report no 225, 10 Aug 2021) https:// www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/east-mediterranean-mena/israelpalestine/225-beyond-business-usual-israelpalestine; and UNICEF, ‘State of Palestine Humanitarian Situation Report No. 2 - Mid Year 1 January - 31 July 2021’, n 36. 41 Akram, ‘UNRWA and Palestine Refugees’ (2021), n 7, 656. 42 Akram, ibid, 656, n 7. 43 Akram, ibid, 657, n 7; and see European Commission, ‘Palestine Factsheet’ (2021) https://ec.europa.eu/echo/where/middleeast/palestine_en [accessed 30 June 2022] (noting that ‘[d]ue to violence, intimidation and the rejection of building permits, the… homes [of Palestinians in West Bank] are increasingly demolished and the inhabitants evicted by force. Violence and demolitions have intensified despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Access by Palestinian children to education is hampered: schools continue to be demolished or damaged, and students are routinely harassed on their way to school’). 8