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Nearly two years after the UN voted in favor of the division of Palestine, the UNRWA was established. The only UN agency that focused solely on the Palestinians, the dispossessed population, existed and still exists.

UNRWA participated in almost every aspect of Palestinian life in the decades that followed, from food distribution to healthcare and education to utilities. The organization’s activities were hampered by Israeli pressure and were sidelined in the wake of the genocide in Gaza.

We need UNRWA to finish its work and put an end to the famine right now that a ceasefire is approaching. It is the only organization that can distribute aid fairly and effectively.

My family has always been a part of UNRWA. My siblings and I attended UNRWA’s schools, where we received free education under the guidance of devoted teachers. Additionally, my family frequently relied on UNRWA to provide food for us. We used to go to the agency’s clinics frequently as children to get primary care, get shots, and get basic treatment. Particularly for those who couldn’t afford private care, this service was always accessible.

UNRWA continued to offer services as best it could following the Israeli genocide that occurred in Gaza on October 7, 2023. Israel, supported by its Western allies, launched a fierce campaign against the organization, though. The Israeli government opened an investigation into the involvement of some UNRWA employees in the attacks in January 2024, and some of them were fired.

These allegations provided justification for Western donor nations, including the United States and members of the European Union, to stop funding UNRWA. At a time when Gaza’s two million people were almost entirely dependent on UNRWA’s resources, that had a significant impact.

The situation with aid started to improve after the ceasefire agreement was announced in January of this year. UNRWA was able to resume distribution of aid in a timely and just manner.

In each neighborhood, there were designated aid centers and clear schedules. Each family had to use their ID number to register in advance to prevent chaos. UNRWA would send them a message letting them know when they would arrive to pick up their parcels. When they arrived at the center, staff or volunteers would check their information to make sure no one was overlooked or given more than they deserved. Based on its size, each family would receive a food parcel. In the midst of extremely challenging circumstances, this system gave Palestinians a sense of calm.

Unfortunately, this circumstance did not endure. Israel resumed its genocide on March 2, when it stopped aid from entering the Strip on March 2. People once more had to deal with displacement and intolerable circumstances that they believed they would never be able to.

UNRWA announced on April 25 that its food stock had run out. We have since experienced yet another severe famine. More than a million people have been left with hunger and malnutrition after UNRWA and numerous other humanitarian organizations stopped conducting their aid efforts.

In response to Israeli claims that Hamas had stolen aid, the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was established a month later.

GHF does not provide a structured distribution model like UNRWA. Its distribution centers are situated in dangerous locations, and the process is erratic. No registration, fair distribution, or schedules are present. People are permitted to rush in and get whatever they can because a small number of food parcels are just dumped in a fenced-off area every day. More than 2, 500 Palestinians who are in need of aid are currently killed by Israeli soldiers or foreign mercenaries who use live fire to “order.”

Israel has only permitted a small amount of aid to enter Gaza, with the majority of it being looted before reaching its intended destination, aside from the deadly aid at GHF. It started allowing commercial trucks as well in the late summer of that year. They sell products at exorbitant prices to merchants in all of their products.

The famine has continued unabated.

Every day, I witness children in my neighborhood rushing to a small, Palestinian charity-run takyah, which is a soup kitchen. These regional organizations typically use donations from abroad to purchase the small items sold at local markets. Rice, lentils, pasta, or soup are the main dishes. These meals are entirely dependent on families who can’t afford them.

Ironically, many of the same nations that had suspended UNRWA funding called for immediate action in August.

“Famine is brewing right before our eyes.” The statement from the foreign ministers of 19 EU member states, along with Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Japan, read urgently.

However, these nations denied more than two million people their fundamental right to food by cutting funding for UNRWA and allowing Israel to destroy the organization.

They must reaffirm their support for the organization that caused such suffering and demand that Israel permit it to fully reopen its services if they are serious about ending the genocide and starvation.

UNRWA has always provided Gaza’s residents with a lifeline. In the midst of chaos, it was the only organization that gave us a sense of stability and hope. UNRWA would need to be reimbursed and protected in order for us to survive this genocide and what follows. It would be equivalent to allowing the extermination of Palestinians if Israel were to permit its destruction.

After being intercepted and detained in Israel, activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla who intended to travel to Gaza have been deported. They claim that Greta Thunberg was particularly mistreated and that Israeli forces denied them food, water, and medicine.

In cities all over Europe, large-scale pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been held to protest Israel’s occupation of Gaza. In a number of cities, police made hundreds of arrests.

In its first elections since Bashar al-Assad’s regime fell in December, Syria will elect the People’s Assembly on Sunday.

The election is a historic moment for the new, under the leadership of President Ahmad al-Sharaa, after more than 50 years of dynastic, oppressive al-Assad rule.

The electoral process has been up for debate, though.

No general elections will be held. Al-Sharaa will choose one-third of the assembly members, while electoral subcommittees will choose the rest.

We have answers for any questions you may have. Everything you need to know about the elections in Syria is listed here:

Elections but no direct casting of ballots by Syrian citizens?

Correct.

Members will serve 2 seats in the new People’s Assembly, compared to 40 under al-Assad. 5-year terms.

The remaining 140 members will be voted on by subcommittees led by an 11-person Supreme Committee appointed by al-Sharaa.

About 6,000 electors will vote in the regional electoral colleges, making up the subcommittees.

After nearly 14 years of displaced people, the Syrian government announced that no general elections are taking place because they do not have accurate census data.

Voting will be conducted, according to Aron Lund, a fellow analyst and fellow on Syria at Century International, who spoke to Al Jazeera.

It is an indirect election that uses a select group of electors who are essentially the current rulers’ handpicked candidates. Despite Syria being thankfully free of Assad-style censorship and police state tactics, it all occurs in circumstances that make it difficult to have meaningful discussion. ”

No political parties are involved in the elections either.

Polls opened at 9am (06:00 GMT) and will close at 5pm (14:00 GMT).

How many candidates are running?

1,570 candidates were chosen by the Supreme Committee, which was appointed by al-Sharaa. Before al-Sharaa appoints the final 70 assembly members, those candidates are vying for 140 seats.

Although a draft law mandated that the electoral colleges have 20 percent of women’s voting, 3 percent for those with special needs, and a 70-to-30 split for professionals over traditional notables, there are no quotas.

A masked man shot and killed Haidar Shahin, an Alawite candidate from the Tartous governorate, on September 30 at his Tartous residence.

Shahin was killed by “remnants of the former regime,” according to the government-aligned Al-Watan newspaper on Telegram. Authorities stated that Shahin’s murder is being investigated.

When al-Assad’s supporters launched an insurrection that turned into sectarian killings in Tartous in March, there was a source of conflict there. Alawites have since reported facing discrimination and sectarian threats.

Is voting widespread?

Not yet, no. There will be no empty seats for up to 32 of the 210 members.

Syrian authorities delayed voting in three areas because they claimed the fighting between Druze and Bedouin communities’ northeast and southern regions of Suwayda, which took place in July and August, was not open to the public.

What are the Syrian people’s opinions of the elections?

There is both optimism and skepticism.

Many Syrians are still enthralled by the al-Assad family’s abdication from power and open to any resumption of its brutal rule.

Some Syrians, however, expressed distrust of al-Sharaa’s leadership and crucial role in these elections due to security concerns, including massacres in coastal governorates like Tartous and clashes in Suwayda.

Despite this, a recent poll by the Arab Center found that 61 percent of Syrians favor a democratic system that includes political pluralism and accountability.

A system without parties or elections, in contrast, according to 6 percent of respondents, and an Islamic law-based political system in which only Islamic parties are in power.

Is this just another example of one-man rule being continued?

Al-Sharaa is undoubtedly the most significant player in this process by far.

Since leading the offensive that overthrew al-Assad on December 8, he has dominated Syrian politics.

Analysts still think the elections are credible and don’t repeat the false elections that took place under the al-Assad regime.

You’ll probably see some genuinely well-known people and a lot of local celebrities appointing the top, according to Lund.

Syria needs to allow local people to communicate with Damascus’s power structure.

This shouldn’t be dismissed as theater, in my opinion. However, it is not a legitimate election because it will allow for political parties to compete for seats in an independent legislature. ”

After the elections, it’s unlikely that Al-Sharaa’s significance will change. Still, according to analysts, they could serve as the first step toward promoting a more pluralist political system.

In all fairness, I believe that Syria, one of the nations that have experienced revolutionary change, is pretty typical. What other options do you have? Lund said, “You have to start somewhere.”

You end up with something like this, which is better than nothing. ”

What follows?

By Tuesday, the election results should be made public, and the question will be how the People’s Assembly will function.

How much more power will be given to this parliament to influence politics and voice objectionable opinions than just rubber-stamping laws? Lund questioned.