Jerusalem, Oct. 28 (EFE).- The Knesset (Israeli parliament) on Monday approved a law banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from operating in Israeli territory, including the Occupied Palestinian Territories, where it provides social services to millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants.
The bill passed its first reading in the summer before the three-month parliamentary recess and its second and third readings on Monday, the first day of the new session, with 92 votes in favor and ten against.
The text stipulates that UNRWA will not undertake any representation, provide any services, or carry out any activities within Israel’s sovereign territory.
Even MKs from several opposition parties, including centrist Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid (There is a Future) and Benny Gantz’s National Unity, voted in favor of the ban.
“The vote by the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) against UNRWA this evening is unprecedented and sets a dangerous precedent. It opposes the UN Charter and violates the State of Israel’s obligations under international law,” said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General.
“These bills will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza where people have been going through more than a year of sheer hell,” he added.
Moments before the vote, Israeli Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi of the Hadash-Ta’al Party called the legislation «fascist» during a debate in the Knesset plenum, prompting shouts and anger from Likud MK Tally Gotliv, who had to be pulled back to her seat.
Before the vote, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said: “If UNRWA goes away, you will see civilians -including children, including babies – not be able to get access to food and water and medicine that they need to live. We find that unacceptable.”
“We continue to urge the government of Israel to pause the implementation of this legislation. We urge them not to pass it at all, and we will consider next steps based on what happens in the days ahead,” he added.
Miller also alluded to a letter sent to Israel by the Biden administration warning that passage of the legislation “could have implications under US law,” since the country’s legislation bars the transfer of offensive weapons to countries blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The UN agency provides services such as education and health care in some of the refugee camps in East Jerusalem, such as Shuafat. Without coordination with Israel, on which it depends for visas and permits to enter the Occupied Palestinian Territories, it will find it very difficult to work in Gaza or the West Bank.
UNRWA is «the backbone of humanitarian operations in Gaza,» UNRWA spokesman Jonathan Fowler told EFE, pointing out that without the agency’s work, 660,000 Gazan children would lose the only institution capable of continuing their education.
Israel has accused UNRWA of employing 2,100 Hamas members and said in January that twelve of them were actively involved in the deadly Oct. 7 attacks, to which the agency immediately responded by launching an internal investigation and firing those workers.
The agency, which employs more than 30,000 people, claimed months later that Israel had failed to provide conclusive evidence of its staff’s involvement in the attacks.
An independent investigation by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in March vouched for the neutrality of the agency’s humanitarian activities, although it found «critical areas.»
As soon as Israel made such accusations in Jan. 18 countries announced they were withdrawing their funding, including major donors such as the US, Germany, Japan, and France, resulting in a 450 million dollars budget cut.
Most countries, including Canada, Sweden, Australia, and the European Union, resumed funding UNRWA months later in the absence of evidence presented by Israel. EFE
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