close
close

Apre-salomemanzo

Breaking: Beyond Headlines!

    • Israel bans UNRWA, the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees
    aecifo

    Israel bans UNRWA, the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees

    Umito Posted on

    The Israeli parliament voted Monday to ban the operations of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, the main humanitarian aid agency operating in Gaza.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement on the legislation that reiterates accusations that UNRWA employees are involved in terrorist activities in the region. An investigation carried out by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services closed in Augustwith some claims being refuted and noting that others lacked sufficient evidence.

    However, the agency noted that nine employees may have been involved in the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel if the evidence was “authenticated and corroborated.” UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said these contracts would be terminated.

    Netanyahu’s office said Monday that UNRWA staff “must be held accountable.”

    “In the 90 days before this legislation takes effect – and thereafter – we stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure that Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza in a manner that does not threaten not the security of Israel,” the statement said. said.

    Ban on UNRWA operations comes just two weeks after Biden administration issued letter warning Israel that it may be forced to restrict its military aid if humanitarian aid to Gaza does not increase within a month.

    US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a press briefing on Monday that before the Israeli bill was passed, the State Department had made clear to Israel that it was deeply concerned about the UNRWA ban.

    “No one can replace them right now, in the middle of a crisis,” Miller said.

    Lazzarini denounced the Israeli parliament’s vote, writing on X that it violated the UN charter and “created a dangerous precedent.” He accused the legislation of amounting to collective punishment and endangering an entire generation of children.

    “This is the latest in the ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA and delegitimize its role in providing aid and human development services to Palestinian refugees,” Lazzarini wrote.

    Netanyahu and many of his allies in the Israeli government have long been engaged in a feud over UNRWA, and tensions have escalated since last year.

    UNRWA is a United Nations humanitarian organization established in 1949 to provide aid and protection to Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Some Israeli critics have said the agency perpetuates a false narrative that Palestinians are refugees, which Lazzarini referenced in his statement.

    “Ending UNRWA and its services will not strip Palestinians of their refugee status,” Lazzarini said. “This status is protected by another resolution of the United Nations General Assembly until a just and lasting solution is found to the plight of the Palestinians.”

    Before the law was passed, the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Britain, Japan, South Korea, Canada and Australia issued a statement expressing “grave concern.”

    “It is crucial that UNRWA and other United Nations organizations and agencies are fully able to provide humanitarian aid and assistance to those who need it most, effectively fulfilling their mandate,” the statement said.

    Michael Martin, Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland, issued a joint statement with the governments of Norway, Slovenia and Spain condemning the ban.

    “The work of the Agency is essential and irreplaceable for millions of Palestinian refugees in the region, particularly in the context of Gaza,” the letter said.

    Members of the Israeli parliament disagreed. One of the bill’s authors, Boaz Bismuth, said the agency’s work was “counterproductive” in the region.

    “If you really want stability, if you really want security, if you want real peace in the Middle East, organizations like UNRWA are not going to get you there,” Bismuth said.

    UNRWA is not the only target of anger recently, as Netanyahu has accused the The UN is considered an “anti-Semitic swamp” during his speech at the organization’s General Assembly in September. And UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was declared “persona non grata” by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and was barred from entering Israel.

    And since the Israeli Defense Forces launched a ground invasion into Lebanon, soldiers have been accused of attacking Lebanon. UN Interim Forces in Lebanon and peacekeepers in danger. Netanyahu has denied the accusation and said publicly that Israel had warned peacekeepers to leave their posts in southern Lebanon as the IDF battled Hezbollah militants.

    But peacekeepers are mandated to remain along the Israel-Lebanon border to observe hostilities under UN Resolution 1701 and have refused to leave their posts.

    Umito
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like