‘No place for UNRWA in new Gaza,’ declares Board of Peace as ‘technocratic’ gov’t touts postwar plans

The U.S.-backed Gaza Board of Peace (BoP) declared Wednesday that UNRWA, the controversial UN aid body for Palestinian refugees, has “no place in the new Gaza” against the background of the annual Pledging Conference for the agency.

Meanwhile, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), the technocratic Palestinian government meant to eventually enter the Gaza Strip and lead reconstruction efforts, praised a series of “highly productive” meetings in Cyprus this week focused on plans for postwar governance that are currently deadlocked.

Hamas this week reiterated its opposition to disarmament, issuing its latest response to proposals for advancing the peace process by BoP High Representative Nickolay Mladenov.

The Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the terror group again rejected giving up weapons located in tunnels, weapons depots and production workshops, effectively rendering the disarmament process meaningless.

UNRWA has no place in the new Gaza. We are turning the page on the complex of perpetual aid dependency & conflict. The people of Gaza deserve better. https://t.co/MttkJqX1Np

— Board of Peace (@BoardOfPeace) July 1, 2026

The BoP has threatened to advance the process without Hamas’s participation, though it remains unclear how the situation on the ground can change without the acquiescence of the only armed force on the ground.

The NCAG is based in Egypt and is not expected to enter Gaza until the disarmament process picks up and the International Stabilization Force (ISF) takes over security of the strip from Hamas.

One possible way to weaken Hamas is to prevent aid from reaching the terrorists, which, among other paths, has long happened through the close cooperation of UNRWA workers and the terror group.

In its statement against UNRWA, the BoP stressed that “We are turning the page on the complex of perpetual aid dependency & conflict. The people of Gaza deserve better.”

Over the past two days, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) held a series of working meetings in Cyprus with experts and advisers of the @BoardOfPeace, the Office of the High Representative for Gaza, and the Tony Blair Institute.

The meetings were highly…

— اللجنة الوطنية لإدارة غزة - NCAG (@NCAG) July 1, 2026

Israel has long accused the UN agency of employing Hamas terrorists and of perpetuating the conflict through antisemitic education in its schools and, through aid, allowing Hamas to use a considerable part of its funds for warfare rather than feeding, housing and educating its populace.

U.S. envoy for UN management and reform, Ambassador Jeff Bartos, told the conference that “doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result, is the definition of insanity.”

“Another annual pledging conference for UNRWA. Same speeches, in fact, if we dusted off and looked a year ago, I bet you your speeches haven’t changed except for the date. Same condemnation of Israel, same failures to condemn Hamas,” he continued.

“It is well past time to break this cycle,” Bartos said, urging fellow ambassadors to stop funding “incitement, terrorism, and stagnation” and instead, send funds to the still-underfunded BoP.

“You can stop underwriting an organization that has become a subsidiary of Hamas, whose employees took part in one of the most barbaric terror attacks in history,” Bartos said.

Last month, UNRWA dismissed 70 employees in the Gaza Strip over their ties to Hamas. In response, UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer pointed out that “this is a drop in the bucket. UN Watch’s research indicates at least 1,500 additional Hamas-affiliated staff in Gaza alone, out of thousands more across the agency.”

“Firing a handful while the structural rot remains does nothing to restore credibility. UNRWA cannot be reformed. It must be shut down,” Neuer concluded, “donor countries should immediately end all funding and work with an agency that indoctrinates children with hate in its schools, and functions as a political and military arm of Hamas.”

Meanwhile, the NCAG continued planning and preparations for the reconstruction of the ruined enclave.

On Wednesday, the NCAG said that its representatives as well as the BoP and the Tony Blair Institute met international partners in Cyprus to advance “immediate initiatives” to alleviate humanitarian conditions and other issues in Gaza.

“We reviewed plans for reconstruction, security, and governance, and we finalised the institutional arrangements that will ensure the transparency and accountability required by international donors,” it stated.

“We … are prepared to take all the necessary steps… to assume [our] responsibilities once the right conditions are met. These meetings built on the workshop held in Cairo last week 23-24 June 2026, and together are part of a broader process to ensure we have every tool necessary to serve the Palestinian people of Gaza.”