Above photo: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP.
Officials say the unprecedented decision will mean the collapse of the humanitarian process as a whole across the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli Knesset on 28 October passed two laws banning the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) from operating inside Israel, Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and occupied East Jerusalem.
In a 92-10 vote, the Knesset approved the first law, which says that the UN agency cannot “operate any institution, provide any service, or conduct any activity, whether directly or indirectly.” Moments later, lawmakers voted 87-9 for the second law, which states that no Israeli government official or agency may contact UNRWA, effectively prohibiting Israeli officials from providing services or dealing with UN employees.
“It’s outrageous that a member state of the United Nations is working to dismantle a UN agency which also happens to be the largest responder in the humanitarian operation in Gaza,” Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for UNRWA, told AFP on Monday.
Ahead of the Knesset vote, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the bills a “catastrophe.” At the same time, European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell warned that the move “would have disastrous consequences.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also expressed “concern” over the bills, saying that the “enactment of such restrictions would devastate the Gaza humanitarian response,” as well as the provision of “vital” services in occupied East Jerusalem.
UNRWA was created over 70 years ago to provide essential services — education, healthcare, and emergency aid — to Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the West Bank, and neighboring countries following the Nakba and colonization of Palestinian land by Jewish settlers.
Since the start of the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza last October, Tel Aviv has conducted a wide-ranging smear campaign against the UN agency, accusing its members of being allied with Hamas.
At least 188 UNRWA installations, including shelters, schools, and medical facilities, have been bombed by Israeli forces over the past year.