The UNRWA is prohibited from conducting all forms of activities or offering any services in Israel. The law change was voted through with 92–10 votes, after being debated.
The legislation that has just been voted through was not just another law. It is a call to justice and a wake-up call. UNRWA is not a refugee aid organization. It is an aid organization for Hamas, says Boaz Bismuth, a member of the Knesset for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party Likud.
In another vote, the Knesset passed a second part of the legislation. It prevents Israel from having any form of diplomatic relations with UNRWA. This means that Israel will no longer issue entry permits to UNRWA employees or allow coordination with the military, which is a prerequisite for the organization to operate.
UNRWA: Deepening Suffering
The new legislation will not come into effect immediately.
UNRWA's chief Philippe Lazzarini writes in a statement on X that the law is "the latest in the ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA".
"These laws will only deepen the Palestinians' suffering, especially in Gaza where people have gone through more than a year of pure hell. It will deprive over 650,000 girls and boys of education and put an entire generation of children at risk", Lazzarini writes.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promises to "stand ready" to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
"We stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure that Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not threaten Israel's security", Netanyahu says in a post on X.
"Terror Links"
UNRWA provides millions of Palestinians in Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank with education, healthcare, and economic assistance, but has repeatedly been accused by Israel of having terrorists among its employees.
According to Israel, more than one-tenth of UNRWA's approximately 13,000 employees in Gaza have "terror links", writes The Times of Israel. The UN has investigated the allegations and earlier this year found that nine employees may have been involved in Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel on October 7 last year. The nine have been dismissed.
Many countries have been critical of the law changes. Among others, the EU, the US, and Sweden have urged Israel to refrain from voting them through.
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Corrected: An earlier version of this text contained incorrect information about Israel's new legislation.
UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, was founded after the war that broke out in connection with Israel's establishment in 1948, with the aim of helping the over 750,000 Palestinians who were forced to flee.
Today, UNRWA helps around 5.9 million Palestinian refugees. Nearly 90 percent of the donations come from UN member states. The largest supporters include the US, Germany, the EU, Sweden, and Norway.
Over half of UNRWA's budget goes to school education. Around 15 percent goes to health-promoting measures, according to figures from 2020.
The UN agency has around 30,000 employees, of whom 13,000 are in Gaza. A majority are locally employed Palestinians.
In January, Israel accused UNRWA employees of having links to terrorist-listed Hamas. The allegations led several major donors, including Sweden, to almost immediately pause their payments to the aid organization. Several countries have since resumed their support, including Sweden.
Source: UNRWA, The New York Times, and others
