A U.S.-backed proposal to dismantle the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is sparking fear in Gaza about the future of the agency that has shaped every aspect of refugee life for nearly eight decades.

Earlier this month, the Board of Peace, chaired by President Donald Trump, reposted on its X account a June 30 speech by Jeff Bartos at the annual UNRWA Pledging Conference, where he urged donors to redirect their funding. “You can choose to fund incitement, terrorism, and stagnation, or you can choose to fund the Board of Peace, giving Gazans a path to peace, prosperity, and real, durable change,” Bartos said.

“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,” the Board of Peace wrote it in its post.

The Board of Peace proposal to replace the U.N. agency includes plans for what it describes as a “humanitarian and governance zone” under Israeli military control where Palestinians could be relocated.

“I reject replacing UNRWA completely,” said Hanan Abu Muslam, a Gaza resident. “It was established by the U.N. after the Nakba to provide services to Palestinian refugees and preserve their rights. I grew up in UNRWA schools, and whenever I became ill, I went to its health centers.”

To many in Gaza, UNRWA is one of the few humanitarian institutions that has managed to build a functioning system of education, healthcare, and relief over generations. They fear that replacing it with a new mechanism would mean dismantling an institution with infrastructure, staff, and community trust that have been built over decades. Those fears have only deepened after the rollout of the U.S.-led Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which Palestinians in Gaza view as a model that has undermined their dignity and fundamental rights, rather than providing humanitarian relief.

Read the full article about what dismantling UNRWA would mean for Palestinian refugees by Hassan Abo Qamar at Prism Reports.