CNN
Israel’s parliament has voted to ban a nearly eight-decade-old United Nations agency that provides essential services for Palestinian refugees, a move that could have devastating consequences for millions of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.
On Monday, the Knesset passed two bills; one barring UNRWA from activity within Israel, and another banning Israeli authorities from any contact with UNRWA – revoking the 1967 treaty that allows UNRWA to provide services to Palestinian refugees in areas under Israel’s control.
The move is expected to severely restrict the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from operating in territories Israel occupies.
Following the passing of the first law, Boaz Bismuth, a member of Likud and architect of the bill, stated: “Anyone that behaves like a terrorist has no rights in Israel…. UNRWA equals Hamas, period.”
The decision faced heated opposition from Arab members of the Knesset and significant international pressure from Western nations. The first law was approved with 92 votes in favor and 10 against, while the second garnered 87 votes in favor and 9 against.
The vote was met with swift criticism from UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, who emphasized that it violated international law and was part of an ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA and delegitimize its role in providing human development assistance and services to Palestine refugees.
Several countries, including the United States, expressed deep concerns about the controversial ban, fearing it would severely impact the education, food, healthcare, and livelihoods of millions of Palestinians reliant on the agency.
Despite these expressed concerns, Knesset member Yuli Edelstein asserted that the move would “not in any way harm humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip” and maintained that Israel was operating within the framework of international law.
Israel has long sought to dismantle the UN body, arguing that some of its employees are affiliated with Hamas, and alleging that its schools promote hostility against Israel. UNRWA has repeatedly denied these accusations, declaring there is “absolutely no ground for a blanket description of ‘the institution as a whole’ being ‘totally infiltrated.’”
What is UNRWA and what does it do?
UNRWA was founded by the United Nations a year after the 1948 creation of Israel, which resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during an event known by Palestinians as the “Nakba” (catastrophe).
The agency began by assisting about 750,000 Palestinian refugees in 1950, and now serves some 5.9 million across the Middle East, many of whom live in refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, as well as in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
In the Gaza Strip, heavily impacted by prolonged conflict, UNRWA serves around 1.7 million Palestinian refugees. In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, it assists approximately 871,500 refugees.
UNRWA provides a wide range of aid and services to Palestinian refugees and their descendants, including shelter, healthcare, food, and education. It is also a major source of employment for the refugees, with over 30,000 employees across the Middle East, and has offices in New York, Geneva, and Brussels.
More than 13,000 of its employees are stationed in Gaza alone. In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, it employs nearly 4,000 workers.
UNRWA is unique in being the only UN agency dedicated to a specific group of refugees in specific areas. While its purpose is to support Palestinian refugees, it does not have a mandate to resettle them.
The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) handles resettlement but its mandate does not extend to areas where UNRWA operates.
Israel has opposed UNRWA even prior to October 7, 2022, when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel, taking more than 250 hostages. Israeli officials reject UNRWA’s definition of Palestinian refugee status, arguing that descendants of the 1948 refugees are not eligible and thus have no right to return to their ancestral homes in what is now Israel.
An Israeli member of parliament behind the bills accused UNRWA of “educating kids to hate Israel and spreading antisemitism.”
Since the war began, Israel has intensified its efforts to delegitimize UNRWA, alleging that some of its employees were involved in Hamas’ attacks in various capacities.
UNRWA strongly denies the accusations; however, several governments, including the US, suspended funding for the agency earlier this year while investigations were ongoing. In January, the agency dismissed the contracts of those named by Israel and initiated its own investigations. Most nations have since restored funding, except for the US, which was the agency’s largest donor.
As of October 20 of this year, UNRWA reported that 233 of its workers had been killed. Last month, another UNRWA staffer was shot and killed by a sniper during an overnight Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank, marking the first deadly incident involving UNRWA staff in the region in over a decade.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted the necessity of UNRWA, stating that it is “indispensable…irreplaceable.”
He communicated with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, cautioning that the proposed bill would “suffocate efforts to ease human suffering and tensions in Gaza, and indeed, the entire Occupied Palestinian Territory,” labeling its potential outcomes as catastrophic.
However, his appeals have not swayed Israeli officials, who have deemed him an unwelcome figure due to accusations of pro-Palestinian sympathies.
Currently, UNRWA is the primary humanitarian aid organization in Gaza. Nearly 2 million Gazans depend on the agency for support, with 1 million utilizing UNRWA shelters for food and healthcare.
Alongside the Palestinian Red Crescent, UNRWA oversees nearly all distribution of UN aid into Gaza. The agency maintains 11 food distribution centers for 1 million people, with over half of those assessed living below the absolute poverty line of $1.74 per person per day.
UNRWA has also worked with other UN bodies to implement an emergency polio vaccination campaign in Gaza in a bid to contain the infectious virus. Last week, continuing violence in northern Gaza led to the postponement of the third phase of this vaccination campaign, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In the West Bank, UNRWA delivers services in 19 refugee camps, including more than 90 schools and several health services like prenatal care. It distributes basic food supplies, loans, emergency cash grants, and shelter support, as indicated on the agency’s website.
Aida Touma-Suleiman, an Israeli-Arab politician and member of the Arab-majority Hadash party, stated that the “bills stem from a long-time ambition of the Israeli right – to strip Palestinian refugees from their status.”
“Israel is in effect creating new refugees every day while questioning the legitimacy of that very status,” Touma-Suleiman commented on X.
On Monday, foreign ministers from seven countries – Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom – called on Israel to halt the legislation, expressing “grave concern” over its implications.
“UNRWA provides essential and life-saving humanitarian aid and basic services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and throughout the region,” the ministers stated in a joint declaration.
Despite suspending funding to UNRWA, the US also expressed opposition to the ban. In a letter addressed to senior members of the Israeli government, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin conveyed the Biden administration’s “deep concern” regarding the legislation.