Gaza War: Israel bans UNRWA work on its territory

Despite violent international protests, the Palestinian relief organization UNRWA must stop its work in Israel next year. Israel’s parliament overwhelmingly approved a controversial bill banning the organization from operating on Israeli territory. This means that the organization can hardly continue its operations in the Palestinian territories because Israel controls the border crossings.

In the 120-seat Israeli parliament, 92 members of the government and opposition voted for the plan. This provides for a massive restriction on the work of the Palestinian relief organization. A second bill banning any contact between Israeli authorities and UNRWA was also approved by a majority of 87 MPs. UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Israel’s key Western allies had clearly spoken out against the plans.

Law changes come into force within 90 daysIsrael accuses the organization that some of its employees were involved in terrorist activities. “UNRWA is the same as Hamas,” said MP Boaz Bismuth from the right-wing conservative ruling party Likud, one of the initiators of the first law, after the approval.

Authorities in Israel will be banned from any contact with the organization once the changes come into effect. This should happen within 90 days of publication of the law. The aid organization would have to stop all activities on Israeli territory – this particularly affects the Arab-dominated eastern part of Jerusalem. According to Israeli ideas, a replacement for UNRWA should be found during this time.

UNRWA hit the headlines in January after Israel claimed that 12 of the agency’s employees were involved in the October 7 massacre and that the organization as a whole was infiltrated by Hamas. A review report by independent experts later concluded that UNRWA had established “robust” mechanisms to maintain its principle of neutrality. However, there is room for improvement.

There were angry debates in Parliament before the vote. An Arab MP spoke of a “fascist law”. The aim is the continued oppression of the Palestinian people. The initiators reacted with loud shouts, and a representative had to be removed from the hall after several warnings.
Guterres: Catastrophe in an already complete disaster UN Secretary General Guterres had clearly spoken out against the project. Such a law would “stifle” efforts to ease human suffering and tensions in the Gaza Strip – and also in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, he warned. “It would be a catastrophe in what is already a complete disaster.” There are fears that there will be dramatic effects, especially in the embattled Gaza Strip, for around two million people who rely on UNRWA’s vital assistance.

According to media reports, representatives of the Israeli Foreign Ministry also expressed concerns about the practical consequences. In the worst case scenario, Israel could be excluded from the United Nations. But the USA could prevent this through a veto in the Security Council.

UNRWA responsible for almost six million refugeesThe United Nations founded UNRWA in 1949 to help Palestinian refugees. The Palestinians who fled or were displaced during the wars of 1948 and 1967, as well as their descendants, are entitled to their services. According to the organization, there are now around 5.9 million people. The aid organization also operates in Jordan and Lebanon, among other places.

UNRWA has more than 30,000 employees, most of them Palestinian. The aid organization employs around 13,000 people in the Gaza Strip alone. Most of them are refugees themselves with their own fate in the Middle East conflict.

The organization provides basic services such as education and healthcare to Palestinian refugees. Since the beginning of the Gaza war, it has also provided shelter for hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people and provided humanitarian aid.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced in Israel in June that Germany was increasing aid for the people in Gaza by 19 million euros. With the additional funds, German humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territories has increased to 312 million euros since last year.
The focus of support is medical resources and food aid. Additional money goes to the evacuation of injured people, to medical teams, to psychosocial support and to hygiene measures.

Shortly before the Knesset’s decision, seven Western countries expressed their “deep concern” about the legislative plans. In a statement, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Japan and South Korea “strongly” called on the Israeli government to comply with its international obligations.

The prerogatives of UNRWA should not be restricted and humanitarian aid and basic services for the civilian population must continue to be made possible. The ministers emphasized that UNRWA had taken steps to dispel allegations of support by individual employees for terrorist organizations.

Palestinians: Law is a violation of international law The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank sharply criticized the Knesset’s decision. The law violates international law, said a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The aim is to “eliminate” the issue of Palestinian refugees. This will not be allowed. He called Israel a “racist state” that must be removed from international organizations.

Luise Amtberg, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, also condemned Israel’s decision. “If the laws were implemented in this form by the Israeli government, it would effectively make UNRWA’s work in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem impossible,” she said. This is a “dangerous signal of disregard for the United Nations and international cooperation.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly called for the aid organization to be abolished entirely. He justified this by saying that the organization perpetuates the problem of Palestinian refugees and “the idea of ​​a right of return with the aim of destroying the State of Israel.”