The international community lashed out at Israel on Monday night after the Knesset overwhelmingly passed two bills that would effectively shut down the United Nations Relief and Works Agency operations in east Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank.
“Passage of this legislation could have implications under US law and US policy,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told repeaters in Washington.
He noted that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had already warned Israel against taking such a step in a letter he wrote Israel earlier this month detailing actions Israel had to take to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza or risk restricted military assistance.
UNRWA plays “an irreplaceable role right now in Gaza, where they are on the front lines getting humanitarian assistance to the people that need it. There’s nobody that can replace them right now in the middle of the crisis," Miller said.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said he was “gravely concerned.” Such a step is in “stark contradiction to international law and the fundamental humanitarian principle of humanity.” He warned that the cessation of UNRWA operations would “only exacerbate an already severe humanitarian crisis, potentially halting essential services such as food, shelter, education and healthcare for millions of Palestinian refugees in these territories.”
'Totally wrong'
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said it was “totally wrong” to close UNRWA. “Alongside international partners, the UK has been clear Israel must ensure UNRWA can deliver aid at the speed and scale needed to address the humanitarian emergency in Gaza.”
The Israeli Right has long opposed UNRWA, warning that it helps ensure an ever-expanding population of refugees and taking issue with incitement and antisemitism in the education material in its schools.
Opposition to UNRWA in Israel has grown in the last year as the government has charged that some of the organization’s staff were involved in the kidnapping of Israelis on October 7 and that other staff members are Hamas and Hezbollah operatives.
UNRWA operates under a mandate from the UN General Assembly, and only that body can shut it down. Israel, however, has the power to close its operations in the territory it controls, and on Monday night, it passed legislation that would shutter the organization within 90 days.
In doing so, it has not provided an alternative to the $1.2 billion in services that UNRWA provides. It is possible that under international law, Israel would now have the financial responsibility to finance those services.
Ireland, Norway, Slovenia, and Spain — countries that unilaterally recognized Palestinian statehood this year — issued a joint statement against the move.
Belgium spoke out, saying this sets a “very serious precedent for the work of the United Nations and for all organizations of the multilateral system. " On Sunday, in advance of the vote, seven countries issued a joint statement in support of UNRWA: Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesperson for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, called on the international community to take “decisive action” against the dangerous legislation.
UNRWA Director-General Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X, “This is the latest in the ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA and delegitimize its role towards providing human-development assistance and services to #Palestine Refugees. Putting an end to UNRWA & its services will not strip the Palestinians of their refugee status. That status is protected by another UN General Assembly resolution until a fair and lasting solution is found to the plight of the Palestinians,” he stated.