Why Israel outlawed UNRWA, and what it could mean for Palestinian refugees
UNRWA workers prepare medical aid for distribution to shelters, Deir al-Balah, 4 November 2023
Qassam Muaddi writes in Mondoweiss on 29 October 2024:
The Israeli Knesset passed a bill on Monday, October 28, banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Israel and East Jerusalem.
The bill was introduced by two Knesset members, Canadian-born Dan Illouz from the Likud party and Ukrainian-born Yulia Malinovski from the Yisrael Beiteinu party. It was first passed by the Knesset’s Security and Foreign Affairs Committee in mid-October. The 120-seat Knesset voted on the bill on Monday in a final reading, with an overwhelming majority of 92 votes in favor and only 10 against, passing it into law. It is scheduled to enter into force in 90 days.
The law bans all UNRWA’s activities, including offering vital services to Palestinian refugees. It also bans all Israeli officials from communicating with UNRWA, orders the closure of its offices, and revokes all tax exemptions, diplomatic status, and entry visas to UNRWA and its staff.
The law specifically bans UNRWA’s activities “in the territory of Israel.” UNRWA’s activities are mostly in the West Bank and Gaza, and its main offices are in East Jerusalem, all of which are not part of Israel’s territory under international law. However, Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1981, which makes the law applicable to UNRWA’s offices and facilities there.
However, Israel also effectively controls the West Bank and Gaza and treats the West Bank as part of its territory, although it hasn’t yet officially annexed it. In other words, what this law means for UNRWA’s main activities in these areas remains unclear.
“If Israel decides to apply this law in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, it would mean that more than 2.9 million Palestinians in some 30 refugee camps will no longer have schools, medical attention, garbage collection, and other municipal services,” Lubna Shomali, director of the BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, told Mondoweiss.