Israel bans UNRWA, the U.N. relief agency for Palestinian refugees
Israel’s parliament voted Monday to ban the operations of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, the main humanitarian aid agency operating in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement on the legislation that reiterates accusations that UNRWA employees are involved in terrorist activities in the region. An investigation by the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services closed in August, with some allegations being debunked and noting that others lacked sufficient evidence.
However, the agency noted that nine employees may have been involved in the Oct. 7 terror attack against Israel if evidence was “authenticated and corroborated.” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said those contracts would be terminated.
Netanyahu’s office said Monday that UNRWA personnel “must be held accountable.”
“In the 90 days before this legislation goes into effect — and after — we stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure that Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza in a manner that does not threaten Israel’s security,” the statement said.
The ban on UNRWA’s operations comes just two weeks after the Biden administration issued a letter warning Israel it may be forced to restrict military aid if humanitarian assistance in Gaza is not increased within a month’s time.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a briefing Monday that before Israel’s bill passed, the State Department made clear to Israel that it has deep concerns about banning UNRWA.
“There’s nobody that can replace them right now in the middle of the crisis,” Miller said.
Lazzarini decried the Israeli parliament vote, writing on X that it violated the U.N. charter and “sets a dangerous precedent.” He accused the legislation of amounting to collective punishment and putting an entire generation of children at risk.
“This is the latest in the ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA and delegitimize its role towards providing human-development assistance and services to #Palestine Refugees,” Lazzarini wrote.
Netanyahu and many of his allies in Israel’s government have been in a longstanding feud against UNRWA, and the tensions have accelerated since last year.
UNRWA is a U.N. aid organization established in 1949 to provide aid and protection to Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Some Israeli critics have said that the agency perpetuates a false narrative that Palestinians are refugees, which Lazzarini referenced in his statement.
“Putting an end to UNRWA & its services will not strip the Palestinians from their refugee status,” Lazzarini said. “That status is protected by another UN General Assembly resolution until a fair and lasting solution is found to the plight of the Palestinians.”
Before the legislation was passed, foreign ministers from France, Germany, Britain, Japan and South Korea, Canada and Australia issued a statement expressing “grave concern.”
“It is crucial that UNRWA and other UN organizations and agencies be fully able to deliver humanitarian aid and their assistance to those who need it most, fulfilling their mandates effectively,” the statement said.
Michael Martin, deputy prime minister of Ireland, released a joint statement with the governments of Norway, Slovenia and Spain condemning the ban.
“The work of the Agency is essential and irreplaceable for millions of Palestinian refugees in the region, particularly in the context of Gaza,” the letter said.
Israeli parliament members disagreed. One of the bill’s authors, Boaz Bismuth, said that the agency’s work has been “counterproductive” in the region.
“If you really want stability, if you really want security, if you want real peace in the Middle East, organizations like UNRWA won’t bring you there,” Bismuth said.
UNRWA is not the only target of ire recently, as Netanyahu accused the U.N. of being an “antisemitic swamp” during his address at the organization’s General Assembly in September. And U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was declared “persona non grata” by Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, and was banned from entering Israel.
And since Israel Defense Forces began a ground invasion into Lebanon, soldiers have been accused of attacking the U.N. Interim Forces in Lebanon and putting peacekeepers at risk. Netanyahu has denied the charge and publicly stated that Israel warned the peacekeepers to leave their posts in southern Lebanon as the IDF fights Hezbollah militants.
But the peacekeepers are mandated to stay along the Israel-Lebanon border observing hostilities by U.N. Resolution 1701 and have refused to leave their posts.
