Israeli authorities should withdraw proposed legislation in parliament aimed at preventing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and halt their campaign to destroy the UN’s most important aid agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza and elsewhere.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the proposal to evict UNRWA from areas under Israeli control and revoke its privileges and immunities “would be a catastrophe,” calling the agency “indispensable” and “irreplaceable.” European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the laws would have “disastrous consequences” if implemented. United States Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield also voiced “deep concern.”
Israel has long campaigned against UNRWA and called for its closure, claiming earlier this year that as many as around 1,200 Gaza staff were linked to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
In August, the UN said that nine UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which armed groups killed hundreds of civilians and took many others hostage. The UN found no evidence to back Israeli allegations about other staff. The accused staff, who were either fired by the UN or have since died, represent a tiny fraction – roughly 0.03 percent – of UNRWA’s total staff of more than 30,000 across Palestine, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon.
UNRWA is mandated to protect the rights of Palestinian refugees. The proposed legislation would not only threaten aid for Gaza but undermine its regional capacity to provide humanitarian assistance, education, and other essential services. At least 226 UNRWA staff have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
Israeli authorities have also publicly attacked the UN secretary-general, in what appears to be a campaign against different parts of the UN. Recently Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced Guterres was barred from entering Israel. A letter signed by 104 UN member states initiated by Chile voiced support for Guterres and condemned Israel’s move. The US, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia were among those who did not sign it.
Israel should let UNRWA and other humanitarian agencies do their work in Gaza, where the population faces famine due to Israeli authorities’ use of starvation as a weapon of war, a war crime. Governments, including the US, which has yet to resume its UNRWA funding, should publicly support and fully fund UNRWA and demand Israel withdraw its draft legislation.
