Israel’s parliament voted to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on Monday. UNRWA is a body that has been crucial in delivering aid and services to millions of Palestinian refugees for nearly 80 years. The move carries potentially dire consequences for the Palestinian population living under Israeli jurisdiction, with fears that humanitarian assistance could collapse.
A first bill completely prohibits UNRWA from functioning within Israel’s borders, including its operations in East Jerusalem, while a second bill forbids any state authorities from engaging with UNRWA. The package passed 92-10. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the importance of humanitarian aid but offered no clear alternative or plan for support in the region following the legislative decision.
This legislative action follows the Knesset’s recent approval of a bill curtailing UNRWA’s ability to operate in Israeli territory, revoking the Comay-Michelmore Agreement of 1967 that facilitated its activities. This comes as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Friday that “the darkest moment of the Gaza conflict is unfolding in the north of the Strip.”
The ban has been met with widespread alarm. UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini warned that the absence of their services would severely impact vulnerable civilians in Gaza, where they are already grappling with a humanitarian crisis. Particularly, he argued that the legislation would jeopardize the education of over 650,000 children in Gaza, essentially amounting to collective punishment. He added: “Failing to push back these bills will weaken our common multilateral mechanism established after World War 2. This should be a concern to all.”
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller emphasized the agency’s “irreplaceable role” in providing essential services, stating in a daily press briefing:
There’s nobody that can replace them right now in the middle of the crisis. If UNRWA goes away, you will see civilians—including children, including babies—not be able to get access to food and water and medicine that they need to live. We find that unacceptable.
Apart from the UN and the US, Ireland, the UK and the EU all expressed similar concerns over the implications of the ban, and some criticized the legislation as violating international law.