Defying Global Outcry, Israel Cracks Down on UN Relief Agency
afp_tickers
This content was published on October 29, 2024 – 08:05
(AFP, Jerusalem, 28th) Despite facing international opposition, the Israeli Parliament today banned the United Nations Relief Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from operating in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem.
The Israeli Knesset passed the bill with 92 votes in favor and 10 votes against. Israel has fiercely criticized the United Nations organization for years, and those criticisms have only intensified since a deadly attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on October 7 kicked off the war in Gaza.
Experts say a ban on the UN agency, if implemented, would deal a blow to humanitarian work in Gaza. For more than 70 years, UNRWA has provided essential aid and assistance to Palestinian refugees throughout Palestine and elsewhere.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini condemned Israel’s decision, saying it set “a dangerous precedent.”
He wrote on social media
Israel’s move also attracted condemnation and criticism from the governments of the United States, Britain, Germany and other countries.
The legislation alarmed the United Nations and some of Israel’s Western allies, who feared it would worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Ahead of the vote, the United States said it was “deeply concerned” about the bill and reiterated the U.N. agency’s “critical” role in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Washington warned Israel on the 15th of this month that it must increase the delivery of humanitarian supplies to Gaza in the next 30 days, otherwise the United States may consider suspending some military aid to Israel.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also said that the UK is “gravely concerned” that the legislation will prevent “UNRWA from providing vital services to the Palestinians, all international humanitarian responses in Gaza, and in Jordan The provision of basic health and education services on the West Bank is a hazard.” (Translator: Liu Wenyu/Verification: Li Peishan)