Israel passed a law on Monday banning UNRWA from operating in the country, a law that could affect the UN refugee agency's work in war-torn Gaza.
Lawmakers who drafted the law cited the alleged involvement of some UNRWA workers in an October 7, 2023 attack led by Hamas in southern Israel, and that some UNRWA workers were members of Hamas and other armed groups.
The law has alarmed the United Nations and some of Israel's Western allies, who fear it will worsen the humanitarian situation in Gaza after a year-long war. The ban does not apply to the Palestinian territories or elsewhere.
UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, employs tens of thousands of workers and provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestine that provides health, education and social services in Gaza, said Israeli authorities are preventing humanitarian operations from reaching parts of northern Gaza, including the Jabalia refugee camp. Essential supplies, including medicine and food, were not reaching those in need, and the situation was particularly dire for children, according to Alexandra Saieh, head of humanitarian policy and advocacy at Save the Children.
Relations with Israel have long been strained, but relations have worsened since the start of the war in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly called for UNRWA to be disbanded, and its responsibilities transferred to other UN agencies.
The UN said in August that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the October 7 attack and were fired. The commander of Hamas in Lebanon – who was killed last month in an Israeli strike – was found to have worked for UNRWA. Another commander killed in Gaza last week doubled as an aid worker.
“If the United Nations is not willing to clean up this terrorist organization, Hamas activists, we must take steps to ensure that they will not harm our people again,” said Israeli lawyer Sharen Haskel.
“The international community could take responsibility and make sure that they use the right organizations to help people, like the World Food Organization, like UNICEF, and many others who work around the world.”
A UNRWA official says the ban violates Israel's international obligations
The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said on Monday in a post on social media X that the ban on all of Israel sets a dangerous precedent, contradicts the UN Charter and violates Israel's obligations under international law.
“These loans will only deepen the suffering of the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza where people have been going through hell for over a year,” he wrote. Lazzarini said the move would deprive more than 650,000 children of an education and put “an entire generation” of children at risk.
“These debts increase the suffering of the Palestinian people [and] they are nothing but collective punishment,” he wrote.
The Israeli Parliament (Knesset) voted against it @UNRWA this evening is unprecedented and sets a dangerous precedent. It is against the UN Charter and violates the obligations of the State of Israel under international law.
This is the latest in an ongoing smear campaign…
A UNRWA spokesman said before the vote that the proposed law would be “disastrous” and would have a major impact on humanitarian work in Gaza and the West Bank.
Juliette Touma, the organization's chief spokesperson, said previous efforts to shut down UNRWA had failed miserably.
“It is sad that a country that is a member of the United Nations is working to dismantle the UN organization that is the most responsive to humanitarian aid programs in Gaza,” said Touma.
This law may have had a direct impact on the UNRWA facilities in East Jerusalem, which Israel attached to an unknown road abroad.
Boaz Bismuth, one of the authors of the law, said that UNRWA's work there had been inactive for years.
“If you really want stability, if you really want security, if you want real peace in the Middle East, organizations like UNRWA are not going to get you there,” Bismuth said. Israel has faced intense international pressure to do more to ease the humanitarian situation in Gaza and to get more aid to people displaced by the Israeli campaign.
Before the law was passed, foreign ministers from France, Germany, Britain, Japan, South Korea, Canada and Australia issued a statement expressing great concern.
“It is important that UNRWA and other UN organizations and agencies are fully able to deliver humanitarian assistance and aid to those who need it most, to carry out their duties effectively,” the statement said.
