Israel’s parliament has voted to pass a law banning the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) from operating in Israel and Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem within three months.
Contact between Unrwa staff and Israeli officials is also prohibited, severely limiting the agency’s ability to operate in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Cooperation with the Israeli military, which controls all traffic into Gaza, is essential for Unrwa to deliver aid to the war-torn region. It is the main UN organization operating there.
Unrwa employees will no longer have legal immunity within Israel, and the agency’s headquarters in East Jerusalem will be closed.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that enforcing this law would be “harmful not only to the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but also to the peace and security of the entire region,” while Unrwa Representative Philippe Lazarini said, “It will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians.” “He said. “.
Many countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, have expressed serious concerns about this measure.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said it was “absolutely wrong” and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the law “risks jeopardizing the entire international humanitarian response in Gaza by making essential work for the Palestinian people impossible” with Unrwa. He said.
The U.S. State Department said Unrwa played a “critical” role in distributing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Almost all of the region’s population of more than 2 million people rely on the agency for support and services.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Unrwa workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable,” but added, “Continued humanitarian assistance must continue to be provided in the Gaza Strip.”
“We stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure that Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not threaten Israel’s security,” he said.
Israel has opposed Unrwa for decades, but opposition has intensified in recent years.
Israel has claimed that Unrwa’s associates colluded with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and that 19 of Unrwa’s associates were involved in a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
that The United Nations investigated Israel’s claims and dismissed nine of the accused.But Israel said it had provided no evidence for the broader claims. Unrwa insists that the deal with Hamas was purely to enable the agency to do its work.
Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, approved both bills with overwhelming majorities Monday evening.
Announcing the bill, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein accused Unrwa of being used as a “cover for terrorist activities.”
“There is a deep connection between the terrorist organization (Hamas) and Unrwa, and Israel cannot tolerate this,” he told parliament.
Unrwa, the UN’s relief agency for Palestine refugees, has been providing a range of services and support, including healthcare and education, to millions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip for decades.
Since war broke out last year, the agency’s work on the ground has become an important part of efforts to supply humanitarian supplies to civilians, nearly all of whom depend on aid for their survival.
Unrwa Secretary-General Philippe Lazzarini called the ban “unprecedented” and said it “runs counter to the UN Charter and violates Israel’s obligations under international law.”
He said the people of Gaza had already endured “an enormous hell”, adding: “This will deprive more than 650,000 girls and boys there from education and put an entire generation of children at risk.”
About 2.5 million Palestinians are registered in Unrwa in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which includes East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Hundreds of thousands of people are living in increasingly desperate conditions in northern Gaza, where Israeli forces are waging a military campaign against Hamas fighters.
“Israeli forces are exposing entire populations to the risk of bombardment, siege and starvation,” Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Friday.
Many Palestinians believe the Israeli military is carrying out a “surrender or starve” plan in the north of the Gaza Strip. The plan would mean forcing all of Gaza’s estimated 400,000 civilians to move south and surrounding the remaining Hamas fighters.
The Israeli military has denied any such plans and said it was making sure civilians were not harmed.
Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas on October 7 in response to its attacks on Israel. The attack left approximately 1,200 people dead and 251 taken hostage.
Since then, more than 42,710 people have died in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
