Israel bans UN aid agency UNRWA from operating in Israel

Israel passed a law on Monday banning the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA from operating in the country, legislation that could impact its work in war-torn Gaza.

The lawmakers who drafted the law cited the involvement of some UNRWA workers in the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel and for staff having membership in Hamas and other armed groups.

The legislation has alarmed the United Nations and some of Israel’s Western allies who fear it would further worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where Israel has been fighting Hamas militants for a year.

The ban does not refer to operations in the Palestinian territories or elsewhere. UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, employs tens of thousands of workers and provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

It has long had tense relations with Israel but ties have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza and Israel has called repeatedly for UNRWA to be disbanded, with its responsibilities transferred to other UN agencies.

The UN said in August that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the October 7 assault and had been fired. A Hamas commander in Lebanon – killed last month in an Israeli strike – was found to have had an UNRWA job. Another commander killed in Gaza last week doubled as an aid worker.

“If the United Nations is not willing to clean this organisation from terrorism, from Hamas activists, then we have to take measures to make sure that they cannot harm our people ever again,” said Israeli lawmaker Sharren Haskel.

“The international community could have taken responsibility and made sure that they used the proper organisations to facilitate humanitarian aid, like the World Food Organization, like Unicef, and many others who work all around the world,” Haskel said.