Cassis criticizes Israel for attacking UN Palestinian relief agency

Cassis is in a dilemma: The foreign minister is not too optimistic about the Palestinian relief organization UNRWA. However, in the United Nations Security Council, he defended the Council from Israeli political attacks.

Stefan Bühler / ch media

Suddenly, Ignazio Cassis found himself in the role of defender. The Israeli Knesset's decision on Monday targeting the U.N.'s Palestinian relief agency UNRWA is not only largely inconsistent with international law “but also threatens humanitarian aid to suffering civilians,” the Federal Council said. So far, aid has been guaranteed by UNRWA. “Switzerland expects Israel to comply with its obligations under international law, including the United Nations Charter and international humanitarian law.”

Cassis will address the United Nations Security Council in New York on Tuesday. Switzerland holds the Presidency of all countries in these difficult times. Now, the Knesset has passed two laws banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and banning Israeli authorities from having any contact with the aid organization. This makes it almost impossible for UNRWA to carry out its work in Gaza and the occupied territories. After the meeting, Cassis told media representatives in New York: “If UNRWA is unable to act, it is Israel's responsibility to develop alternative solutions – and we have not heard anything about that today.”

It's yet another chapter in the complicated relationship between Switzerland's foreign minister and U.N. aid agencies.

In 2018, during an interview with this newspaper during a trip to Jordan, Cassis posed the question: “Is UNRWA part of the solution, or part of the problem?” She immediately responded: “For a long time It was a solution, but today it has become part of the problem. “As long as Palestinians live in refugee camps, they want to return to their homeland: “By supporting UNRWA, we keep the conflict alive,” he said. ” Cassis said at the time.

This means that the FDP magistrate, who served as deputy chairman of the Swiss-Israel parliamentary group for several years while serving as a national parliamentarian, has officially joined the ranks of UNRWA's critics. The interview caused a sensation abroad. Especially because the head of UNRWA at that time was already a Swiss: Pierre Krähenbühl.

Events surrounding Pierre Krähenbühl, head of UNRWA Switzerland

This is the focus of the next episode. In a report in the summer of 2019, UNRWA's ethics committee leveled accusations against Krahenbühl and his closest employees: management failures, sexual misconduct, nepotism, discrimination and abuse of power. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis was one of the first donor countries to suspend payments to UNRWA. Krähenbühl resigned. The United Nations conducted a formal investigation and cleared the accused of all serious allegations. Krähenbühl sees himself as a victim of politics.

Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis and former UNRWA head Pierre Krähenbühl in Jordan in May 2018.Image: trapezoid

In the years that followed, anti-Israel, anti-Semitic teaching materials in UNRWA schools in the Palestinian territories made headlines. They are also involved in several initiatives with the Bern parliament. For example, then-senior vice-president Marco Chiesa asked that relevant textbooks be inspected before payments were made to UNRWA.

The Kassis department rejected the proposal on behalf of the Federal Council, noting that the books were not produced by UNRWA but by the Palestinian Authority. However, he noted that the Federal Council considers “continued pressure on UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority to ensure that school materials comply with United Nations principles as the most promising path.”

Cassis's critical distance from UNRWA can easily be seen in the response to the 2023 proposal. At the same time, the dilemma faced by the foreign minister at the time was clear: given the political and social conditions in the Palestinian territories, there was no alternative to UN assistance.

Funding Suspended: Backlash to Reports of Hamas Attacks

Subsequently, on October 7, 2023, the terrorist organization Hamas launched a bloody attack on Israeli civilians. UNRWA is again under criticism. Israel stated in a January 2024 report that a total of 12 UNRWA employees, out of a total of 30,000 employees, participated in the terrorist attack. Several states stopped payments. Switzerland has also “paused” planned donations. The foreign ministry also complied with the demands of numerous members of parliament in Bern who wanted to stop payments. Among them is Thierry Burkart, chairman of the Free Democratic Party of Cassis.

But by spring, reality caught up with EDA. On May 1, Cassis posted a tweet on He is also Swiss: “In Bern to discuss the situation in Gaza with the Commissioner-General of UNRWA.” Not a word about the content. There were earlier opportunities to see Lazzarini in early 2024, but Cassis did not take advantage of these opportunities.

A few days later, SonntagsBlick published an internal report from the FDFA. “UNRWA is the largest and most important humanitarian actor in Gaza,” it said. During this crisis, “no organization has the capacity to fully take over its activities in the short term.” If payments to UNRWA continue Failure will have serious consequences for the health, social or educational sectors. And “there could be additional destabilizing consequences.” In short: UNRWA is inescapable.

This is Cassis' dilemma again with unpopular aid groups. So the Federal Council decided on May 8 to provide 10 million francs in emergency aid to Gaza.

Institutional role as member of the Federal Council

During the debate in the National Assembly on 9 September, the foreign minister's ambivalence was almost palpable. One of the initiatives on the agenda is that Senior Vice-President National Commissioner David Zuberbühler wants to implement measures that would ultimately halt Swiss payments. During the debate, Cassis made it clear that he represented the position of the Federal Council, which rejected the motion.

When reminded by Zuberbuler, a member of the Swiss-Israel Knesset caucus, that he said in a 2018 interview that UNRWA was part of the problem, Cassis responded: “I play my institutional role here, I represent the Federal Council .” He also sees UNRWA as a problem. However, “a complete troop withdrawal during a major humanitarian crisis is not appropriate to strengthen Switzerland’s interests and credibility.”

The National Council voted 99 to 88 against the payment to UNRWA. Next, if Zuberbühler's proposal is brought before a State Department committee, Cassis will have to represent the U.N. relief organization on that committee. He won't be able to get rid of the unpopular UNRWA anytime soon. (aargauerzeitung.ch)

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