The Israeli Parliament voted overwhelmingly on Monday in favor of a bill banning the activities in Israel of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), provoking an international outcry.
Unrwa denounced a measure “scandalous” against her, while she is the main actor in humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip, besieged and devastated by more than a year of war between Israel and Hamas.
Israel, which has long been very critical of the agency, has accused UNRWA employees of having participated in the massacre perpetrated on its soil by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7, 2023, which triggered particularly Israeli reprisals. murderous.
The text, which prohibits “UNRWA activities on Israeli territory”including in East Jerusalem, a sector of the holy city occupied and annexed by Israel since 1967, was approved in the Knesset by 92 votes to 10.
A second text, also widely adopted (89 against 7), prohibits Israeli officials from working with UNRWA and its employees, which should considerably disrupt the agency’s activities, while Israel strictly controls all cargo entries. humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Both laws will take effect 90 days after their adoption, according to the Knesset.
The head of Unrwa, Philippe Lazzarini, during an interview with AFP in New York on September 24, 2024 / ANGELA WEISS / AFP/Archives
The head of Unrwa, Philippe Lazzarini, denounced this ban, which “creates a dangerous precedent” and goes “aggravate the suffering of the Palestinians”.
“Disaster”
Unrwa, created by the UN General Assembly in 1949, notably manages health centers and schools in Gaza and the West Bank.
Providing shelter, food and basic care, it is considered “the spine” aid to Gaza, in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe.
If this ban is implemented, “It is a disaster, not least because of the impact it is likely to have on humanitarian operations in Gaza and several parts of the West Bank”agency spokesperson Juliette Touma told AFP.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, affirmed that Israel was ” ready “ has “working with (its) international partners” to continue to “facilitate humanitarian assistance to Gaza in a way that does not threaten (its) security”.
Even before the vote, the United States had declared itself “very concerned” et “had urged the government not to approve” this text, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, who reiterated the humanitarian role « crucial » from the Unrwa to Gaza.
An Unrwa member in the courtyard of the Al-Jawni school after an Israeli strike in Nuseirat in the Gaza Strip, September 11, 2024 / Eyad BABA / AFP/Archives
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, denounced a decision “intolerable” who will have “devastating consequences”. “It contravenes Israel’s obligations and responsibilities”he added, emphasizing that “UNRWA is an irreplaceable lifeline for the Palestinian people”.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said “seriously concerned”while Germany has “strongly criticized” this decision.
Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain, four countries having recognized the State of Palestine, have ” sentenced “ in a joint press release this text by judging “essential and irreplaceable” the work of Unrwa.
“Fascist state”
On the Palestinian side, Hamas denounced a “Zionist aggression”while its ally Islamic Jihad condemned “an escalation in genocide” of the population.
The Palestinian presidency, for its part, judged that the text confirmed “the transformation of Israel into a fascist state”.
The UN Security Council, including the United States, Israel’s historic ally, had warned the government against this law.
“The State of Israel has the right and duty, as a sovereign state committed to its survival, to fight against threats including those that exist in its heart”said MP Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, after the vote.
Some of the biggest donors suspended their contributions to UNRWA at the start of the year after Israel accused around twenty of the agency’s 13,000 employees in Gaza of having participated in the attack on October 7, 2023. Most donors have since resumed their support, with the notable exception of the main one, the United States.
Nine people “could have been involved” in the attacks, according to a UN investigation in August, when at least 223 agency employees have lost their lives for more than a year in the territory.
