Situation at a glance: Sharp criticism of the ban on UNRWA work in Israel

The work ban imposed by the Israeli parliament on the Palestinian relief organization UNRWA has met with sharp international criticism. Implementation of the draft laws “could have devastating consequences for Palestinian refugees in the occupied Palestinian territories, which is unacceptable,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. He will inform the UN General Assembly and call on Israel to comply with its obligations under international law.

“These draft laws will only worsen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza, where people have been going through hell for more than a year,” wrote UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini on Platform X. Parliament’s decision to block the aid agency “from Excluding its life-saving and health-protecting work for millions of Palestinians will have devastating consequences,” warned the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The Israeli parliament had approved by a huge majority the controversial bill that would ban the organization from operating on Israeli territory. This means that the aid organization can hardly continue its operations in the Palestinian territories because Israel controls the border crossings. A second bill, also approved, prohibits any contact between Israeli authorities and the aid agency.

The United States, which is Israel’s main ally, and other Western countries had urged the Jewish state not to move forward with the two bills. Its passage will likely increase pressure on US President Joe Biden’s government to suspend military aid to Israel, wrote the US news portal Axios.

New ceasefire efforts in Gaza

Meanwhile, efforts by international mediators to advance talks on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which have been stalled for weeks, continue. CIA Director William Burns has proposed a 28-day ceasefire and the release of about eight hostages held by the Islamist Hamas in exchange for dozens of Palestinian prisoners, Axios reported, citing three Israeli officials.

Burns discussed the idea during a meeting on Sunday with his Israeli and Qatari counterparts in Doha, it said. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that day that he had proposed a two-day ceasefire. As part of this, four Israeli hostages are to be exchanged for several Palestinian prisoners. Burns discussed with counterparts from Qatar and Israel ways to build on Egypt’s idea, Israeli officials told Axios. Along with the USA and Qatar, Egypt is one of the mediators in the indirect talks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said a new initiative was negotiated at the talks in Qatar that combines previous proposals. It takes into account “the central questions and the latest developments in the region,” it said without further details. The head of the Israeli foreign secret service Mossad, David Barnea, left Doha after talks with Burns and Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Discussions with the mediators will continue in the coming days.

USA against implementation of UNRWA ban in Israel

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed their “deep concern” about the humanitarian situation in Gaza in a letter to the Israeli leadership about two weeks ago and called for “urgent and sustained action.” In it, they made it clear that the passage of UNRWA legislation could have implications for US law and policy, said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. “This is still the case.”

If the situation for the people in the sealed-off coastal strip does not improve noticeably within 30 days, there could be a violation of US laws on military support, Washington said a good two weeks ago. This could also jeopardize American military aid to Israel. Netanyahu’s government is being urged to stop implementing the laws, Miller said. UNRWA is “at the forefront” of efforts to provide humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. “There is no one who can replace them now in the middle of the crisis,” said Miller

Changes to the law come into force within 90 days

Israel accuses the Palestinian aid organization of having involved some of its employees in terrorist activities. “UNRWA is the same as Hamas,” said MP Boaz Bismuth from Netanyahu’s right-wing conservative ruling party Likud, one of the initiators of the first law.

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 then have to stop all activities on Israeli territory – which would particularly affect the Arab-dominated eastern part of Jerusalem. According to Israeli ideas, a replacement for UNRWA should be found during this time.

The aid agency hit the headlines in January because Israel claimed that 12 aid agency employees were involved in the October 7, 2023 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.

UNRWA is responsible for almost six million refugees

The United Nations founded the relief agency in 1949 to help Palestinian refugees. Palestinians who fled or were displaced during the wars of 1948 and 1967, as well as their descendants, are entitled to its services. According to the organization, there are now around 5.9 million people – and the number is constantly increasing. The aid organization also operates in Jordan and Lebanon, among other places.

UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) has more than 30,000 employees, most of whom are Palestinian. The aid organization employs around 13,000 people in the Gaza Strip alone. Most of them are refugees themselves with their own fates in the Middle East conflict. The organization provides basic services to Palestinian refugees in areas such as education and healthcare. Since the beginning of the Gaza war, it has also provided shelter for hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people and provided humanitarian aid.