The Israeli Parliament on Monday passed two legislations to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East from operating in the country.
The agency is the main United Nations Palestinian refugee body.
The lawmakers who drafted the legislation cited the alleged involvement of some staffers of the agency in Palestinian militant group Hamas’ invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Reuters reported. About 1,200 persons were killed in the attack and more than 200 persons were taken hostage.
Israel has since been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, killing more than 43,000 persons including 16,500 children.
The lawmakers also allege that some of the staffers are members of Hamas and other militant groups, Reuters reported.
The legislations passed by the Israeli Parliament on Tuesday does not refer to the UN agency’s operations in the Palestinian territories, but the implementation of the laws will curtail relief activities in Gaza and the West Bank.
Proposed to take effect after 90 days, the legislations bar Israeli authorities from having contact with the UN agency.
Tel Aviv will stop issuing entrance permits for the UN staffers to enter the Palestinian territories. The lack of coordination with Israeli authorities will make it nearly impossible for the refugee agency to work in the Palestinian territories, The Times of Israel reported.
Israeli forces control all entry points to Gaza, including the Rafah crossing along the besieged territory’s border with Egypt.
Established in 1949, the UN agency provides healthcare, food aid and education to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
António Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, said that if implemented, the laws would prevent the UNRWA from “continuing its essential work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, with devastating consequences” for Palestine refugees.
There is no alternative to UNRWA, he said.
Guterres called on Tel Aviv to “act consistently with its obligations” under the United Nations Charter and international law. “National legislation cannot alter those obligations,” he said.
The Charter is the foundational treaty of the United Nations and requires all nations to maintain international peace and security, and uphold international humanitarian laws.
Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the UNRWA, said that the Israeli decision was “nothing less than collective punishment” and set a dangerous precedent.
There are six million Palestinians under the mandate of the UNRWA, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
“This is the latest in the ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA and delegitimise its role towards providing human-development assistance and services to Palestine Refugees,” Lazzarini said on social media.
He added: “[Israel’s decision] will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza where people have been going through more than a year of sheer hell. It will deprive over 650,000 girls and boys there from education, putting at risk an entire generation of children.”
Tel Aviv had on October 2 barred Guterres from entering Israel saying he had failed to “unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel”. The decision came a day after Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel, raising fears of an all-out war in West Asia.
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