Israel Cuts Off Ties with UN Palestinian Aid Agency
On Monday (November 4, 2024), Israel officially informed the United Nations of its choice to end its relationship with UNRWA, the agency that aids Palestinian refugees, following a decision by legislators to prohibit the group.
The foreign ministry stated that, as per Foreign Minister Israel Katz’s directive, they informed the UN about the termination of the pact between Israel and UNRWA.
Mr. Katz stated that UNRWA, which had workers involved in the October 7 killings and many employees linked to Hamas, contributes to issues in Gaza instead of resolving them.
Israel’s parliament recently passed a plan to close down UNRWA’s activities in Israel and the occupied east Jerusalem, despite criticism from the global community, including its supporter the United States.
Experts believe that if implemented, the ban on the UN agency, which has been providing crucial aid and assistance to Palestinians for over seventy years, would negatively impact humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
However, Katz rejected the claim, stating that only a fraction of the assistance was reaching Gaza through UNRWA.
Katz stated that currently, most humanitarian assistance to Gaza is provided by other organizations, with only 13 percent coming from UNRWA.
Israel is dedicated to upholding international law and will keep allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza in a way that doesn’t compromise the security of its citizens.
In January, Israel alleged that twelve Gaza workers from UNRWA were connected to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which led to the most deadly conflict in the region.
Neutrality related issues
A number of investigations discovered some “neutrality related concerns” at UNRWA, and concluded that nine staff members “might have participated” in the October 7 assault, yet uncovered no proof for Israel’s primary claims.
The prohibition has also sparked concerns regarding UNRWA staff in the occupied West Bank possibly encountering difficulties in traveling between locations and reaching east Jerusalem or Israel. This is due to the potential loss of their ability to collaborate with Israeli authorities for checkpoint crossings.
Israeli authorities issue visas and permits, which are subject to the same concerns and anxieties.
UNRWA and other relief organizations have criticized Israeli authorities for limiting the delivery of assistance to Gaza, where nearly all of the region’s 2.4 million residents have been forced to relocate at least once due to the conflict.
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