2024-10-29 05:26:00
UNRWA, created by the United Nations General Assembly in 1949, runs health centers and schools in Gaza and the West Bank. Providing shelter, food and basic assistance, it is considered the “backbone” of aid in Gaza, in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe.
Israel, on the other hand, has long been highly critical of the agency. The Jewish state accuses UNRWA employees of participating in the massacre perpetrated on its territory by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Despite the opposition of the American ally and the warning of the UN Security Council, the Israeli Parliament adopted on Monday by an overwhelming majority (92 votes against 10) a text banning “UNRWA activities on Israeli territory”, including East Jerusalem, a sector of the holy city occupied and annexed by Israel since 1967.
A second text, also widely adopted (89 votes against 7), also prohibits Israeli officials from cooperating with UNRWA and its employees, which is expected to significantly disrupt the agency’s activities, while Israel strictly controls all shipments of humanitarian aid entering Gaza. Both laws will take effect 90 days after their adoption.
Hi everyone. Like every day, the editorial staff of 20 minutes is mobilizing to give you all the information on the situation in the Middle East. On the issue of humanitarian aid, Israel is alienating its allies. The Israeli parliament on Monday decided to ban the activities of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Israel, sparking an international outcry.
According to data from the Hamas government’s Ministry of Health, deemed reliable by the UN, the Israeli offensive in Gaza has killed at least 43,020 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and caused the displacement of almost 4 million inhabitants of the territory.
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