Israel bans UN Palestinian refugee agency, raising concerns about Gaza aid

The Israeli parliament has voted to pass a law banning the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) from operating in Israel and Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, for three months.

Communications between Unrwa staff and Israeli officials will also be banned, severely limiting the agency’s ability to operate in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Cooperation with the Israeli army – which controls all routes into Gaza – is essential for Unrwa to deliver aid into the war-torn territory. It is the main United Nations organization operating on the ground there.

Unrwa employees will no longer have legal immunity in Israel and the agency’s headquarters in East Jerusalem will be closed.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said implementing the law “would be detrimental to the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as peace and security in the region more generally”, while Unrwa chief Philippe Lazzarini said that it “will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians”. “.

Several countries, including the US, UK and Germany, have expressed deep concern about this move.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy called it “completely wrong”, while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the law risked making Unrwa’s “essential work for Palestinians impossible, endangering for the entire international humanitarian response in Gaza”.

The US State Department said Unrwa plays a “critical” role in distributing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. Virtually the entire region’s population of more than two million people depends on the agency for aid and services.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “Unrwa workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable”, but added that “sustainable humanitarian aid must be maintained in Gaza”.

“We stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a manner that does not threaten Israel’s security,” he said on X.

Israel has opposed Unrwa for decades, although this opposition has increased in recent years.

Israel said Unrwa employees colluded with Hamas in Gaza and claimed 19 Unrwa workers participated in Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023.

the The UN investigated Israel’s claims and fired the nine accusedBut they said Israel had not provided evidence for the broader allegations. Unrwa emphasized that the dealings with Hamas were purely to help the agency carry out its work.

Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed two bills with an overwhelming majority on Monday night.

Presenting the bill, Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset’s security and foreign affairs committee, accused Unrwa of being used as “a cover for terrorist acts”.

“There is a deep connection between the terrorist organization (Hamas) and Unrwa, and Israel cannot tolerate that,” he told parliament.

Unrwa – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees – has for decades provided a wide range of services and support, including health care and education, to millions of Palestinians in Gaza .

Since war broke out last year, the agency’s presence on the ground has made it a vital part of the effort to deliver humanitarian goods to civilians, almost all of whom depend on on aid to survive.

Unrwa Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini condemned the ban as “unprecedented” and said it “opposes the United Nations Charter and violates the State of Israel’s obligations under international law”.

He said people in Gaza had endured “absolute hell”, adding: “It will deprive more than 650,000 girls and boys there of the opportunity to learn, leaving an entire generation of children in danger.”

About two and a half million Palestinians are registered with Unrwa in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

In northern Gaza, where the Israeli army is conducting military operations against Hamas militants, hundreds of thousands of people are living in increasingly desperate conditions.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Friday that “the Israeli military is subjecting entire populations to bombs, sieges and the risk of starvation”.

Many Palestinians believe that the Israeli military is implementing a “surrender or starve” plan in northern Gaza that would force all of the approximately 400,000 civilians there to relocate south, followed by an unprecedented siege. any remaining Hamas fighters.

The Israeli military denies having such a plan and says it is ensuring that civilians are kept out of danger.

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the October 7 attack on Israel, which left about 1,200 people dead and 251 others taken hostage.

According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, more than 42,710 people have been killed in Gaza since then.