The US has urged Israel to reconsider its move to ban the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) from operating in Israel and curtailing its activities in Gaza and the West Bank.
It comes after Israel’s Knesset voted on Monday evening to approve two bills, one banning Unrwa operatives from Israeli territory, and another banning state authorities from having any contact with the agency.
Unrwa is the main UN agency working on the ground in Gaza, and is responsible for delivering education, health care and aid to millions of Palestinians in the Strip as well as those descended from Palestinians in other parts of the region.
Since October 7, the Israeli government has accused Unrwa of employing terrorists involved in the October 7 terror attacks as well as encouraging hate towards Israelis.
In August this year, the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services found at least nine individuals had been involved in the attack, after concluding an investigation into the alleged involvement of 19 Unrwa staff members.
The legislation passed by 92-10 in a late vote in the Knesset on Monday and will come into effect in 90 days.
Before the passing of the bills, the US State Department said it was “deeply concerned” by the proposed legislation. “Unrwa plays a critical, important role in delivering humanitarian assistance to civilians that need it in Gaza,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said. “There’s nobody that can replace them right now in the middle of the crisis.”
“Implementing the legislation risks catastrophe for the more than 3 million Palestinians who rely on Unrwa for essential services, including health care, and primary and secondary education,” the State Department said. “We urge the government of Israel to pause and further consider implementation of this legislation to ensure Unrwa can effectively carry out its mission and facilitate humanitarian assistance.”
“Unrwa has also long been an organization in need of reform. We support steps to strengthen Unrwa impartiality and neutrality, including to respond to allegations of ties to terrorism,” the US State Department added.
Several other allies of Israel said they were seriously troubled by the move. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “gravely concerned”, and that the law risks making the aid agency’s “essential work for Palestinians impossible, jeopardising the entire international humanitarian response in Gaza”.
Meanwhile, the governments of Slovenia, Ireland, Spain, and Norway issued a joint statement condemning the ban.
The legislation passed by 92-10 in a late vote on Monday.
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for a long time excoriated the UN agency, claiming it colludes with Hamas’s activities in Gaza and that 19 Unrwa staffers were involved in the October 7 attack.
After a UN investigation, nine of the accused were fired, but the UN maintains that Israel has not provided sufficient evidence for the wider allegations.
Israel alleges that over 10 per cent of the agency’s staffers in Gaza have ties to terrorist factions, a charge that the organization has denied. Israel also claims that educational facilities under the Unrwa’s auspices consistently promote hatred of Israel and glorify terrorism.
Following the passage of the Knesset bills, Netanyahu released a statement defending the move and said Israel would ensure that humanitarian aid would reach Gazan civilians in the 90 days before the law is implemented.
“Unrwa workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable. Since avoiding a humanitarian crisis is also essential, sustained humanitarian aid must remain available in Gaza now and in the future,” the statement aid.
“In the 90 days before this legislation takes effect – and after – we stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not threaten Israel’s security.”
But a US official derided the statement, telling the Times of Israel that banning Unrwa without an alternative in place “and then turning around and saying that you want to ensure that aid can continue reaching civilians… It’s disingenuous and reckless.”
The Knesset’s approval of the two bills curtailing Unrwa’s activities came only days after the organisation confirmed that a Hamas Nukbha commander, who led the killing and kidnapping of Israelis from a roadside bomb shelter near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7 last year, had been employed by Unrwa since July 2022. The commander was killed in an Israeli strike.