The president of the Palestinian National Council, Rawhi Fattouh, has called for Israel’s expulsion from the United Nations if it fails to reverse its ban on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), functioning in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.
Fattouh said Israel’s decision ‘is in clear violation of the UN Charter’ and ‘part of Israel’s policy of ethnic cleansing’.
He urged UN member states to hold a General Assembly session to compel Israel to reverse its legislation or face legal consequences that could result in expulsion from the world body.
‘The ban on the UNRWA not only jeopardises the rights of refugees but also undermines international legitimacy and goes against UN resolutions concerning the Palestinian issue,’ Fattouh said.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for the Palestinian presidency in Ramallah, said: ‘The overwhelming vote of the Knesset reflects Israel’s transformation into a fascist state.’
The Republic of Ireland’s Prime Minister, Simon Harris, called on the EU to review its ties with Israel following its ban.
‘The most important action that the European Union could take right now is reviewing trade relations,’ Harris told reporters in Dublin.
‘What Israel and the Israeli Knesset did last night was despicable, disgraceful and shameful. More people will die, more children will starve,’ he said.
Harris said there’s ‘no alternative’ to UNRWA and ‘Europe now needs to find the moral courage … to act in relation to this’.
‘Ireland, Spain, Belgium, and Slovenia, which all recognised Palestinian statehood earlier this year, have been calling for the bloc to take more action on the war,’ he added.
France’s Foreign Ministry said it ‘very strongly regrets’ Israel’s ban on UNRWA.
‘Implementation of these laws would have very serious consequences for the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which is already catastrophic, but also all of the Palestinian territories,’ a statement from the ministry read.
It added that France ‘reiterates its support for UNRWA and will continue to track the implementation of reforms necessary for its actions to be neutral’.
UNICEF spokesperson, James Elder, said Israel’s decision to ban UNRWA could see the ‘collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza’.
‘So a decision such as this suddenly means that a new way has been found to kill children,’ Elder said.
UN humanitarian office spokesperson, Jens Laerke, said: ‘UNRWA is indispensable and there is no alternative to it at this point.’
In response to a question about whether the ban represented a form of collective punishment against Palestinians in Gaza, he said: ‘I think it is a fair description of what they have decided here, if implemented, that this would add to the acts of collective punishment that we have seen imposed on Gaza.’
UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, reiterated that Israel is committing ‘genocide’ in Gaza, charging that the country is seeking the ‘eradication of Palestinians’ from their land.
She said: ‘The genocide of the Palestinians appears to be the means to an end: the complete removal or eradication of Palestinians from the land so integral to their identity, and which is illegally and openly coveted by Israel.’
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Director-General, Amy Pope, told reporters: ‘UNRWA is absolutely essential to the people of Gaza, and I don’t want to leave anyone with the misimpression that IOM can play that role, because we cannot, but we can provide support to those people who are currently in crisis.
That is a role that we are very, very keen to play.’
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said: ‘Israel’s decision to ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees is a clear violation of international law, by preventing Palestinians from returning to their homes.
‘It is the legal and moral obligation of the international community to take a strong stance against attempts to ban UNRWA, which was established by a UN General Assembly resolution.
‘As the Chair of the Working Group on the Financing of UNRWA, Turkey will continue to provide political and financial support to the Agency.’
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said the Israeli parliament’s decision violates international law and is part of its bid to dismantle the organisation.
It said the vote was ‘part of the systematic targeting’ of UNRWA and a ‘continuation of Israel’s frantic efforts to assassinate the UN agency politically, in addition to its aggressive war on the Palestinian people’.
Tamara Alrifai, director of external relations and communications at UNRWA, said if the Knesset laws are implemented, they are likely to prevent the UNRWA from working in any part of the occupied Palestinian territory.
‘What effectively this means is that most likely the international staff will no longer have visas to go to Israel or the occupied Palestinian territory.
‘No work permits will be given to our Palestinian colleagues and there will be no possibility to pass through Israeli checkpoints.’
She also said the laws will prevent UNRWA trucks, convoys and humanitarian supplies from crossing into the occupied Palestinian territory, including Gaza, during the continuing humanitarian catastrophe.
She stressed no coordination on the safety of the UNRWA operations will be possible with the Israeli government, adding that the agency’s premises will be taken over.
Chinese envoy to the UN, Fu Cong, called the Israeli move ‘outrageous’, adding that his country is ‘firmly opposed to this decision’.
Russia described Israel’s UNRWA ban as ‘terrible’ and said it worsens the situation in Gaza.
The UK expressed grave concern and said the Israeli legislation ‘risks making UNRWA’s essential work for Palestinians impossible’.
Australia said UNRWA does life-saving work and her government opposes the Israeli decision to ‘severely restrict’ the agency’s operations.
Switzerland said it is ‘concerned about the humanitarian, political and legal implications’ of the Israeli laws banning cooperation with UNRWA.
- The Israeli Knesset passed two bills banning UNRWA on Monday.
One bill makes it illegal for Israeli officials to have any contact with UNRWA.
The second prohibits UNRWA from conducting activities within Israel’s borders – a rule that will come into effect in three months.
This will make it impossible for the agency to obtain any entrance permits to operate in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip – both of which are under Israeli control.
It will also make it impossible for the agency to transport assistance through Israeli territory to Palestinians in need.
UNRWA is the main humanitarian organisation in Gaza and the West Bank and also operates in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
It was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 after the 1948 Nakba to protect and assist Palestinians ethnically cleansed from their homes.
It became operational on May 1, 1950, and since then has helped generations of refugees, many of whom still live in camps.
It provides education, healthcare, social services and emergency relief to people living in refugee camps in the Palestinian territory, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
In the past 70 years, roughly six million Palestinians have relied on UNRWA’s support.
In 2021, almost 545,000 children were enrolled in UNRWA schools (2021-2022 school year); Social Safety Net Programme assistance reached 398,044 beneficiaries; and 1.7 million received life-saving humanitarian assistance.
UNRWA delivers crucial humanitarian aid and protection to millions of registered Palestinian refugees.
Aside from emergency relief and year-round assistance that the impoverished population needs to survive, UNRWA offers primary healthcare and mental health support.
Its services also include schools, where more than half a million children were studying before Israel launched its war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Among the projects it oversees, UNRWA also tries to provide employment opportunities, microfinance programmes and support to Palestinians who want to develop income-generating initiatives.
Many UNRWA operations are in Palestinian refugee camps, but it does not build, own or operate any camps, and it provides humanitarian services both in and outside camps, to any Palestinian in need.
UNRWA clinics see about 8.5 million patient visits a year to 144 healthcare centres.
It also employs more than 3,300 healthcare staff, which makes it a significant employer in the Palestinian health sector.
UNRWA’s social services programmes include schemes from helping women enter the workforce to supporting people with disabilities.
It runs several skills training programmes, both vocational and professional.
Much in the same vein of its employment of Palestinians in the healthcare sector, UNRWA itself provides employment opportunities to the Palestinians who staff its centres, which offer things from training women in traditional crafts, sewing, knitting and embroidery to physical rehabilitation centres for injured Palestinians or Palestinians living with a disability.
