UNRWA ban: Israel urged to reveal Plan B for Gaza aid

UK’s international development committee chairwoman warns of no plan once Israel law banning UN agency for Palestinians comes into effect on January 28

A damaged UNWRA-run school near Khan Younis. If Israel imposes its ban on the refugee agency operating in Gaza, it could lead to starvation, a senior MP has told The National. AFP

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The people of Gaza “will starve to death” if Israel goes ahead with its ban on UNRWA, the chairwoman of the UK’s international development committee has told The National.

Sarah Champion has condemned the country’s government for failing to announce a plan on how to deal with ending the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees' role in the occupied Palestinian territories on January 28.

The politician, along with Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy, has warned that if the legislation for the “cessation of UNRWA activities” in Israel, passed by the Knesset last October, is enacted, it would derail the ceasefire deal that should begin on Sunday.

“If this is implemented to the letter, the people in Gaza would starve to death because none of the facilities will work and none of the aid will be distributed,” Ms Champion said.

The legislation was passed unanimously after Israel alleged that a small number of UNRWA’s 13,000 employees took part in Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023.

Chilling effect

UNRWA is the linchpin in providing education, health care, social services and humanitarian aid to six million Palestinians. It also operates sewerage, water purification, water supply and drainage facilities, as well as food aid, to about two million people.

Before visiting Israel last month and speaking to Palestinians, Ms Champion admitted she did not “realise the scale of calamity that this piece of legislation will bring” to the occupied territories.

“It will literally stop any services to both the people of Gaza and to Palestinian refugees,” she warned. “It’s having a chilling effect already in terms of movement of people, but it literally will stop any food getting distributed in Gaza.”

Because the ban would have a “catastrophic impact”, she said that under the Geneva Conventions, Israel as the occupier had a legal duty to provide vital services.

No time for logistics

While Britain and other countries were “having very direct conversations with Israel” about the UN agency, the key problem was that logistics to replace it would take weeks to set up.

“And the people in Gaza do not have weeks to wait for this,” Ms Champion warned. “They're already in famine-like conditions, so hanging around for a couple of weeks while logistics are sorted isn't an option.”

While incoming US president Donald Trump has previously been hostile towards UNRWA and is unlikely to restore American funding, which previously amounted to more than $300 million a year, there was hope that he wanted the Gaza-Israel situation resolved.

“Within eight days of him coming into office, UNRWA effectively stops, or is stopped from operating,” said the Labour MP. “So that is going to be a real challenge.”

Clock is ticking

She urged the British government to convene the international community to demand that Israel present its plans for taking over the delivery of aid and services in Gaza. “The whole of the UN family needs to be rallying behind and demanding those plans,” she said, speaking to The National at her Westminster office.

But with its alleged connections to Hamas, UNRWA has become highly unpopular among many Israelis and the legislation is something the government was unlikely to reverse.

Ms Champion also raised the issue with Mr Lammy in parliament on Thursday, saying that Gaza’s schools and hospitals were barely functioning and the threat of famine remains. “We cannot see how there cannot be a role for the essential UN agency [UNRWA] at this time, if this peace is to hold,” Mr Lammy responded.

He added that he had made this point to the Israeli government during a visit to the region on Monday. “The clock is ticking down to that Knesset legislation and what we don't want is this peace on Sunday undermined by that legislation just a few days into its passing,” he told MPs.

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Enforceable consequences

A report by parliament’s international development committee also warned that the situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank “could deteriorate rapidly, possibly irreparably, almost certainly leading to further conflict and displacement”.

It recommended that the British government pressured Israel into immediately announcing its plans on how it would deliver services currently supplied by UNRWA.

The MPs also called on the UK to lead on a co-ordinated motion at the UN, “setting out clear and enforceable consequences should Israel undermine the UNRWA mandate”.

“Israel’s proposed ban would prevent aid distribution in Gaza, devastate Palestinian livelihoods and send disruptive ripples throughout the Middle East,” said Ms Champion.

Six UNRWA staff among 18 killed in Israeli bombing of Gaza school - video

Forcible transfers

The report also warned that Israel risked breaching its international obligations and the Oslo Accords through its tacit support for illegal settlements in the West Bank.

But it also called on the British government to now use the term “forcible transfer” when referring to the removal of Palestinians from their land rather than using the term “displacement”, as this would follow an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice.

Britain should also work alongside its allies to “demand an end to Israel’s forcible transfer policy” and pursue them in the international courts. “This must include accountability for those settlers who illegally encroach on Palestinian lands, the bodies running the settlements, and the politicians and figures in authority who support, encourage and authorise those settlers to do so,” the MPs said.