Israel’s parliament, known as Knesset, passed three bills which would effectively shut down the UN agencies for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) during their first reading in parliament on Monday.
Three bills were passed with large votes in favour which would ban the organisation from operating in Israel, strip UNRWA employees from United Nations legal privileges, and designate UNRWA a terrorist organization.
Israel has been waging a campaign against the aid agency in the wake of 7 October, after it accused 12 of its staff members of being involved in the Hamas-led attacks.
It prompted a wave of donors to suspend aid, despite Israel providing no evidence to investigations into the claims.
For decades, UNRWA has provided education, health, and housing support for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, as well to hundreds of thousands of refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
The bills will go through second and third readings in parliament before becoming law, according to Israeli media.
