Israel’s UNRWA ban is another declaration of genocidal intent
Israeli soldiers operate next to the UNRWA headquarters in the Gaza Strip, 8 February 2024
James Smith writes in Al Jazeera on 13 Nov 2024:
Israel’s parliament has voted overwhelmingly to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from operating throughout occupied Palestine. A second vote has branded the UN agency a “terror” group.
Given the heightened existential threat that the Israeli state poses to the Palestinian people, further obstruction of UNRWA’s programmes will have immediate and catastrophic implications for millions of Palestinians.
No organisation can match UNRWA’s programme coverage, logistical capacity, or collective expertise. In Gaza alone, UNRWA has conducted more than 6 million medical consultations since October 2023 and has provided food assistance to almost 1.9 million people. In the immediate aftermath of the Knesset votes, representatives of several UN agencies objected publicly to the move. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres defended UNRWA as “indispensable” while WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus insisted the agency is “irreplaceable”.
Knowing that no agency can replace UNRWA but attempting to incapacitate its life-sustaining work regardless is a clear declaration of genocidal intent. This represents an obvious disregard for the January 26 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), including most directly Provision Four that ordered Israel to ensure the provision of “urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life”.
In South Africa’s second submission to the ICJ in March, its legal team cited various actions taken by Israel including blocking UNRWA staff from reaching schools and health centres, suspending the shipment of UNRWA goods, and attempting to evict UNRWA from its East Jerusalem headquarters. South Africa’s appeal was emphatic:
“Palestinian children are starving to death as a direct result of the deliberate acts and omissions of Israel – in violation of the Genocide Convention and of the Court’s Order. This includes Israel’s deliberate attempts to cripple [UNRWA].”