UNRWA and Palestinian Refugees ─ From Relief and Works to Human Development

"Exploring the evolution of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), this book fills a lacuna in literature on the agency. UNRWA and Palestinian Refugees employs recent fieldwork in order to analyse challenges in programmes and service delivery, protection, camp governance, community participation, and camp improvement and reconstruction. The chapters examine the way UNRWA is adapting to a changing social, political and economic context, mostly within urban settings - a paradigmatic shift from understanding the Agency's role as simply a provider of relief and services to Palestinian refugees. Examining the refugee debate using new disciplines and research frameworks, this collection aims to emphasise thecentrality of the Palestinian refugee issue for Middle East peace-making and to contribute a better understanding of a unique agency. This book will be a useful aid for students and researchers with an interest in Middle East Studies, Politics, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict"--

Sari Hanafi is Associate Professor of Sociology at the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, AUB

Leila Hilal was formerly a legal and policy consultant advising the Commissioner-General’s Office of UNRWA

Tara Mahfoud coordinates the program on Policy and Governance in Palestinian Refugee Camps in the Arab East at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, AUB

Lex Takkenberg is Chief of the Ethics Office at the Department of Internal Oversight Services, UNRWA