Tel Aviv [Israel]: The Israeli Parliament enacted a law prohibiting the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the primary UN organisation assisting Palestinians, from operating within the country, CNN reported.
The bill was voted in at the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, on Monday, blocking the UNRWA staff and aid from transiting through Israel. The law was passed with a vote of 92 in favour and 10 against.
According to CNN, this legislation does not formally bar UNRWA from functioning in areas like Gaza and parts of the West Bank controlled by the Palestinian Authority, but would greatly restrict the agency’s ability to respond to emergencies in those regions.
Notably, UNRWA has faced ongoing criticism from Israel, especially following the October 7 attack by Hamas last year.
On Monday, foreign ministers from Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the UK released a joint statement urging Israel to halt the proposed legislation, expressing deep concern given the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“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 statement read.
They also highlighted UNRWA’s crucial role in providing life-saving aid and services to Palestinian refugees across the region, warning that its work is vital for education, healthcare, and fuel distribution, particularly in northern Gaza.
“Without its work, the provision of such assistance and services, including education, health care, and fuel distribution in Gaza and the West Bank, would be severely hampered, if not impossible, with devastating consequences on an already critical and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, particularly in northern Gaza,” the statement added.
Prior to the bill’s approval, the UN predicted that there would be a complete halt to the delivery of food, shelter, and healthcare, endangering around 6,00,000 children in Gaza and jeopardising their educational future, as reported by CNN.
The restrictions are expected to disrupt UNRWA’s operations in Israel and the territories it ‘occupies’, impacting 2.5 million people, while the agency continues to support millions of other Palestinian refugees throughout the Middle East.