Jonathan Fowler, the agency’s spokesman in Jerusalem, said the organization is the backbone of humanitarian work in the Palestinian territories, especially Gaza.
“UNRWA is irreplaceable, UNRWA is essential. This remains a fact, regardless of the legislation passed yesterday [segunda-feira]”, said Fowler, describing the bill as “scandalous”, in an interview with the French news agency AFP.
Despite opposition from its North American ally and a warning from the UN Security Council, the Israeli parliament approved on Monday, by a large majority (by 92-10), a bill banning “UNRWA activities on Israeli territory”, including East Jerusalem . , an area occupied and annexed by Israel.
Israel, which has long criticized the agency, accused several UNRWA employees of participating in the massacre by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on October 7, 2023, prompting Israeli retaliation.
In recent months, the Israeli army attacked a number of UNRWA schools in Gaza that had been turned into refugees, where it said fighters from the Palestinian Islamic movement were operating.
According to the agency, 230 of its employees have been killed since the beginning of the war.
Jonathan Fowler added that UNRWA hopes the decision will be reversed and that there is “no chance of it being reversed”.
“It is the duty of the international community and the Israeli authorities, as members of the international community, to say what is plan B”, if the decision is effectively implemented within three months, as the parliament announced.
With approximately 18,000 employees between the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, including 13,000 teachers and 1,500 health professionals, the agency has been providing aid to Palestinian refugees since its creation in 1949.
“The entire United Nations system and other international actors rely on UNRWA’s logistical networks and personnel to do what is necessary to try to keep the people of Gaza alive. We are the backbone of this operation,” Fowler said.
UNICEF spokesperson Jens Elder, who is currently participating in a mass vaccination campaign in Gaza with UNRWA, raised the logistical issue at a press conference in Geneva today.
“If UNRWA is unable to function, the humanitarian system in Gaza is likely to collapse. UNICEF will not be able to distribute vital supplies,” he said.
Tarik Jasarevic, spokesman for the World Health Organization (WHO), which is also supporting the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza, said that 3,000 UNRWA staff are health professionals, it is truly unique and no other agency can compare , including the WHO. “.
A second document approved by parliament on Monday bans Israeli officials from working with UNRWA and its collaborators, which is expected to severely disrupt the agency’s activities, while Israel strictly controls all entry. humanitarian shipments into Gaza.
Like other UN agencies and international non-governmental organizations, UNRWA relies on contacts with the Israeli army or the military body responsible for managing civilian affairs in Gaza, COGAT, to ensure the entry of goods into Gaza and the safe movement of people. to coordinate.
“In the event of war, this is even more necessary, as the inability to resolve the conflict can seriously compromise the ability to move and do our work in relative safety,” Fowler warned.