The Knesset (Israeli Parliament) approved this Monday a law that prohibits the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which provides social services to millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants, from operating in Israeli territory, including annexed East Jerusalem. unilaterally in 1967 by Israel.
The text, which had already been approved in the first reading in July, was passed this day in the second and third reading with 92 votes in favor and 10 against, on the first day of the new period of sessions. The law stipulates that UNRWA will not make any representation, provide any service or carry out any activity “directly or indirectly” within the sovereign territory of Israel.
Even deputies from several opposition parties, also those of the center, voted in favor of this ban, which in turn will severely reduce UNRWA activities in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, given the dependence on coordination with the Israeli authorities.
Next step: “terrorist organization”
Moments before the vote, the deputy of the Arab Hadash-Taal formation, Ahmad Tibi, described this legislation as “fascist” during a debate in the plenary session, which provoked the screams of the Likud deputy, Tally Gotliv, who had to be taken back to its place. A second bill, which must be voted on soon, seeks to revoke the agency’s tax exemption and immunity status, as well as designate it as a “terrorist organization” for its alleged ties to Hamas.
UNRWA currently provides services, such as education and health, in some of the East Jerusalem refugee camps, such as Shuafat. Furthermore, without coordination with Israel, it will be very difficult for him to work in Gaza or the West Bank, where he is in charge of aid distribution, due to the lack of visas or entry permits to those occupied Palestinian territories.
The agency criticized the measure and considered it “scandalous” that a United Nations member country approves a law of this type, especially since UNRWA is “the largest intervener in the humanitarian operation in Gaza”, devastated by more than a year of war. between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas, UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma told the French agency AFP.
The head of the agency, Philippe Lazzarini, condemned on X (Twitter) the measure, which “creates a dangerous precedent” and denounced the latest episode of “an ongoing campaign to discredit” the UN agency, estimating that this ban was going to “aggravate the suffering of the Palestinians. Even the United States, a traditional ally of Israel, expressed its “deep concern” about the text.
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