A law passed in Israel in October makes it difficult for the refugee organization to operate in the Palestinian territories, which could further worsen the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Israel has officially notified the UN that it is canceling the agreement that since 1967 has governed its relations with the Palestinian refugee aid organization UNRWA. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel informed about it on Monday.
Already in October, the Israeli parliament approved a law that prohibits UNRWA’s activities in the territory of Israel in the future and prevents the authorities from cooperating with the organization.
UNRWA provides aid to millions of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. Although the new legislation does not directly prohibit UNRWA from operating in the territories, it significantly weakens the organization’s ability to operate, which has raised concerns about worsening the already difficult humanitarian situation in Gaza.
According to Israel, the activities of other international organizations will be expanded in the future. However, Finnish aid workers previously told that it will be impossible to replace UNRWA’s activities in the region.
Israel has long criticized UNRWA, accusing it of being anti-Israel and perpetuating the conflict in the region.
Since the start of the Gaza war, Israel has also claimed that members of Hamas have infiltrated the organization and accused UNRWA workers of participating in last October’s Hamas attack on Israel.
Source: Reuters
Corrected at 8:41 “aid organizations'” assessment to “Finnish aid workers'” assessment of UNRWA’s compensability.