A United Nations official warned that its humanitarian response in Gaza “may disintegrate” if the UN agency for Palestinian refugees were to be banned from Israeli territory, citing legislation moving through the Israeli parliament (Knesset).
“Operationally, the entire humanitarian response in Gaza – which rests on UNRWA’s infrastructure – may disintegrate,” he said, adding that “senior Israeli officials have described destroying UNRWA as a war goal.”
What’s happening: On Sunday, the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee moved forward a group of bills which seek to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from operating in Israeli territory and to forbid any state authority from having any contact with the agency, according to a Knesset statement on X.
“Politically, the anti-UNRWA legislation, which is part of a broader campaign to dismantle the agency, seeks to strip Palestinians from their refugee status, and change – unilaterally – the parameters for a future political solution,” Lazzarini said.
Remember: The Israeli government in January accused some UNRWA staff members of involvement in the October 7 attacks on Israel. The Israeli government did not make their evidence public, nor – according to UNRWA – did they share it with the agency. UNWRA in January said it had terminated the accused employees’ contracts.
Added context: Israel’s relations with the UN have sunk to historic lows in the past year, with senior UN officials highly critical of Israel’s war conduct in Gaza. Israeli officials have long criticized UNRWA, which plays a central role in feeding and sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees.
In the past 12 months, 226 UNRWA personnel have been killed in Gaza and two-thirds of its buildings have been damaged or destroyed, Lazzarini said.