UNRWA has been vital in distributing humanitarian aid to Gazans since the war began [Getty]
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees must end operations and leave all its “premises” in Jerusalem by January 30, Israel’s UN ambassador said Friday, affirming timelines set out in controversial Israeli legislation.
Defying international concern, Israeli lawmakers have passed a law that bars the agency, UNRWA, from operating in Israel and east Jerusalem, the sector of the city annexed by Israel following the 1967 Six Day War.
Israel has long been critical of UNRWA and claimed that agency staff took part in the 7 October attack. The UN has said nine UNRWA staff may have been involved and were fired.
In a letter addressed to United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, Ambassador Danny Danon said “UNRWA is required to cease its operations in Jerusalem, and evacuate all premises in which it operates in the city, no later than 30 January 2025.”
UNRWA is considered the backbone of humanitarian operations for Palestinians.
It provides aid to some six million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
While east Jerusalem has long been an administrative hub for the agency, it also runs schools and health clinics in the sector.
Israel has also passed a law that prohibits contact between Israeli officials and UNRWA, but its parliament has not banned UNRWA from operating in Gaza or the occupied West Bank.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said earlier this month that the agency plans to “stay and deliver” services in areas where it can operate.
But having “no bureaucratic or operational relation,” with Israel “makes your operational environment even more challenging,” he said.
