Last update:04 November 2024, 12:12 IST

Israel’s Parliament last month banned UNRWA from operating in the country after claiming the organization was infiltrated by Hamas.

UNRWA provides vital aid and education services to millions of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza and its ban has sparked widespread concern. (Reuters)

Israel has officially notified the United Nations that it is canceling the agreement that has governed its relations with the main aid organization for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) since 1967, the country’s Foreign Ministry announced on Monday.

Last month, the Israeli parliament passed a law banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and preventing Israeli authorities from cooperating with the organization, which provides aid and education services to millions of Palestinians in Occupied West Bank and Gaza.

Israel has long criticized UNRWA, established following the 1948 war that erupted around the creation of the state of Israel, accusing it of anti-Israeli bias and saying it perpetuates the conflict by keeping the Palestinians in a state of abandonment. permanent refugee status.

Since the start of the war in Gaza in October last year, the organization has also claimed that the organization was deeply infiltrated by Hamas in Gaza, accusing some of its collaborators of taking part in the attack on 7 October against Israel.

The legislation has alarmed the United Nations and some of Israel’s Western allies, who fear it will further worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where Israel has been fighting Hamas militants for a year. The ban does not refer to operations in the Palestinian territories or elsewhere.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said in a statement that despite the overwhelming evidence “we have submitted to the UN highlighting how Hamas infiltrated UNRWA, the UN has done nothing to respond to this reality.

The legislation does not directly prohibit UNRWA operations in the West Bank and Gaza, both considered by international law to be outside the State of Israel but under Israeli occupation.

But this will have serious consequences for its ability to work in these areas and humanitarian groups and many of Israel’s partners are deeply alarmed.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the activities of other international organizations would be expanded and “preparations would be made to end ties with UNRWA and promote alternatives to UNRWA.”

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Reuters)

Location :

Jerusalem, Israel