Global condemnation as Israel passes bills to ban UNRWA in major blow for Gaza aid

The UN organisation supports six million Palestinians and plays a central role in getting aid into Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing members of the Knesset. AP

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Israel’s parliament has defied heavy international pressure and passed laws banning UN relief agency UNRWA from operating in the country, in a major blow to the 75-year-old organisation that serves six million Palestinian refugees across the occupied territories and the Middle East.

Ninety-two Knesset members on Monday evening passed a bill to “halt UNRWA’s activities within Israeli territory”, with only 10 opposing. A second bill that bans the Israeli state from interacting with the organisation, which significantly complicates its financial operations, passed shortly afterwards by 87 to nine.

UNRWA’s schools, healthcare centres and refugee camps have served four generations of Palestinian refugees since the 1948 war, and a crucial part of managing one of the most enduring refugee crises.

Most critically, the new laws, which would take effect in three months, could collapse humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza, much of which passes through Israeli crossings. UNRWA has been a lifeline for the strip during more than a year of heavy Israeli bombardment that has destroyed most of Gaza’s buildings, ruined vital infrastructure and displaced most residents.

There have been critical shortages of aid in Gaza throughout the war. AP

The laws will almost certainly lead to the closure of UNRWA’s West Bank field office in East Jerusalem, which has been the target of Israeli protesters, who have been sometimes violent, since the October 7 attacks.

The laws would also stop the organisation from using Israeli banks to transfer funds into Gaza and the West Bank, which is by far the simplest means of funding the agency's many projects.

Any international bank that works with UNRWA could also be at risk of being barred from access to the entire state of Israel under antiterror laws. An initial version of one of the bills wanted to designate UNRWA a terror organisation. That stipulation appears to have been omitted from the final version of the bill but senior politicians in Israel often repeat the accusation.

Global condemnation

Israel has been under pressure from its allies not to attack the organisation. Ahead of the vote and soon after, international condemnation of the decision began to pour in due to its catastrophic consequences for Palestinian refugees. Turkey and Jordan described the move as a violation of international law.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said: “There is no alternative to UNRWA.” He added that the Israeli decision could be detrimental to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and he would bring the matter to the attention of the UN General Assembly.

UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said the laws will “increase the suffering of the Palestinians and are nothing less than collective punishment”.

“It will deprive over 650,000 girls and boys there from education, putting at risk an entire generation of children,” Mr Lazzarini said in a tweet shortly after the bill was passed. “This should be a concern to all.”

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller had urged Israel in a media briefing on Monday before the vote not to implement the bills. “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,” he said.

Foreign ministers from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and the UK had released a statement on Saturday expressing “grave concern” at the legislation.

Earlier in the month, US President Joe Biden's administration sent the Israeli government a letter saying it had 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in the strip or risk putting US arms exports to Israel at risk.

UNRWA has long been under attack in Israel, where it faces accusations that it tolerates anti-Semitic content in the curriculum of its schools, that it is closely linked to Hamas and that it perpetuates the refugee status of Palestinians, which many Israelis say makes ending the Israel-Palestine conflict more difficult.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Knesset on Monday. Reuters

There has been even more hostility since October 7, which has also been directed at UN agencies, NGOs and humanitarian agencies working with Palestinians, particularly in Gaza. Israel has accused UNRWA staff members of taking part in the October 7, Hamas-led attacks and the army says it has uncovered Hamas weapons and tunnel entrances at UNRWA facilities, including schools.

UNRWA has responded to these accusations saying: “Since the mid-2000s, during conflicts in Gaza, there have been instances when armed actors from both sides have violated the neutrality of UNRWA sites, which are protected by international law.

“They have, for example, entered UNRWA buildings or used them for military purposes. UNRWA has systematically condemned such violations of UN premises.”