Refugees (UNHRC) mandate,12 dismantling UNRWA would eliminate the last operating institutional mechanism specifically mandated to protect and support Palestinian refugees. Both trajectories serve the same goal: erasing the legal and political characters of the question of Palestinian refugees from the agenda of international institutions which would transform Palestinian refugees from victims of the international crime of displacement and rights-holders, to just a group in need, requiring only the provision of humanitarian aid. Despite the importance of conducting an assessment and presenting scenarios to address the ongoing UNRWA crisis, especially in light of the increasing needs of refugees, this evaluation and the proposed scenarios ignore the political, legal, and historical causes that led to the establishment of UNRWA in 1949. Instead, the Assessment focuses on dealing with the outcomes of the crisis and aligns with Israeli regime ambitions aimed at dismantling UNRWA, disregarding the true roots of their displacement. Dismantling UNRWA has long been an Israeli regime objective, one that has accompanied the agency throughout the past seven decades.13 While 12 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Note on UNHCR’s Interpretation of Article 1 D of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and Article 12 (1)(a) of the EU Qualification Directive in the context of Palestinian refugees seeking international protection. May 2013. Refworld. Accessed July 28, 2025, https://www.refworld.org/policy/legalguidance/ unhcr/2013/en/41179. For more details also see: BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, 2019–2021, Volume X (Bethlehem: BADIL, 2022), accessed July 28, 2025, https://badil.org/ cached_uploads/view/2022/10/31/survey2021-eng-1667209836.pdf. 13 In 2018, the Israeli regime blocked UNRWA’s efforts to rebuild schools in Jerusalem. In 2021, the US imposed funding conditions requiring UNRWA to vet staff and beneficiaries to ensure alignment with US definitions of terrorism. Also in 2021, the Israeli regime launched a campaign targeting UNRWA’s school textbooks, pressuring donors to defund the agency as part of a broader strategy to delegitimize Palestinian education and undermine UNRWA’s role. For detailed analysis, see BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, “Understanding the Political Underpinnings of UNRWA’s Chronic Funding Crisis,” Bulletin, no. 27 (June 2018), https://badil.org/cached_uploads/view/2021/04/19/bulletinno27-unrwa-financial-crisis-1618827651.pdf. and UK Parliament. House of Commons Library. “Armed Forces Recruitment and Retention.” Research Briefing, CDP 2021-0105. July 8, 2021. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2021-0105/. 5