The News
Israel’s parliament on Monday voted to ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, from conducting “any activity” or providing services inside Israel, and to ban Israeli officials from communicating with the agency.
The ban — which is expected to take effect within 60 to 90 days — is already drawing criticism from global leaders over the potential to stifle aid to Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that Israel will work with international partners “to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not threaten Israel’s security.”
The ban comes after weeks of growing international calls to improve aid to Gaza, including a letter from the US that if Israel did not improve the flow of humanitarian aid to the territory, the US could delay arms shipments, a warning that prompted Israel to reopen some crossings. The US had tried to discourage Israeli lawmakers from passing the ban, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying passage “could have implications under US law,” CNN reported.
Know More
UNRWA is largely viewed as Gaza’s last “lifeline” for aid, Al Jazeera wrote, and the US urged Israel not to pass the legislation. Israel has long alleged that the agency has ties to Hamas. In August, the UN found in an internal investigation that at least nine UNWRA employees in Gaza may have been involved in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel last year.
Hundreds of UN personnel have since been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza, and the conflict has become the deadliest for UN workers.