Set up following the expulsion of Palestinians from their land in 1948, UNRWA provides vital services to refugees living in the occupied territories and elsewhere in the region [Getty]
Israel‘s ban on the UN’s Palestinian refugee relief agency (UNRWA) in the occupied Palestinian territories came into effect on Thursday, a move that the agency says will deprive millions of Palestinians of essential services and jeopardise humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
UNRWA was forced to transfer its international staff to Jordan ahead of the closure of its office in Jerusalem but says it is continuing to provide services to Palestinians.
“UNRWA continues to deliver assistance and services to the communities we serve. Our clinics across the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem are open while the humanitarian operation in Gaza continues,” it wrote in a post on X on Thursday.
“We are committed to staying and delivering.”
Two bills passed by the Knesset last year ordered the 75-year-old agency to close its office in Jerusalem by 30 January, a move the agency says will deprive millions of Palestinians of essential services and jeopardise humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
The legislation will ban UNRWA from operating in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and East Jerusalem, and sever communication between the agency and Israeli authorities.
The decision came after Israeli politicians accused the agency of supporting terrorism and claimed several of its members participated in the 7 October attack.
An independent report commissioned by the UN last year said that Israel has not provided any evidence to support its claims.
Set up following the expulsion of Palestinians from their land in 1948, UNRWA provides vital services to refugees living in the occupied territories and elsewhere in the region.
It employs 30,000 staff and provides emergency aid, healthcare, education, and social services to approximately six million Palestinians.
Israel has said it will not provide the services once UNRWA leaves but has not detailed how it will implement the legislation.
“We have not received any communication from the government of Israel on how they implement these two bills,” UNRWA communications director Juliette Douma told ABC News.
“For now our plan is to undertake our duties, that is to deliver services and humanitarian assistance to people wherever they are in the occupied Palestinian territories,” she said.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini earlier this week made a last-ditch plea to the international community to prevent Israel from going ahead with the ban.
Speaking at the UN Security Council, he warned that a shuttering of its operations would have “disastrous” consequences for Palestinians and undermine the humanitarian response in Gaza.
The agency has been the backbone of aid efforts in Gaza during the war, distributing two-thirds of all food aid, providing shelter to more than 1 million displaced people, and vaccinating 250,000 children against polio.
The ban “will only worsen the already catastrophic living conditions of millions of Palestinians”, he said.
International charities, rights monitors and Palestinian groups – including Oxfam, Amnesty International and the Palestinian NGOs Network – have condemned the crackdown.
The International Centre for Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) called on the UK sanctions to impose sanctions in response to the ban, which it described as the “logical next step in Israel’s systematic disruption of aid provision that has been a fundamental tool in carrying out the genocide”.
UNRWA has come under huge pressure since 7 October 2023 after key Western donors cut financial support in response to Israel’s unsubstantiated claims that several of its staff members participated in the attack.
Lazzarini has accused Israel of mounting a sustained propaganda campaign to discredit the organisation and justify the crackdown, which he said is aimed at denying Palestinian refugees their right to self-determination.
Most donors have since restored funding though the US has continued to withhold its support, joining Israel in accusing the agency of supporting terrorism.
Seven European countries expressed support for UNRWA on Wednesday and condemned the Israeli legislation.