With 92 votes in favor and 10 against, the Israeli Parliament approved a double law that suspends the activities of the UN agency for the Palestinians, accused of covering up Hamas. Criticism from the international community. The commissioner general considers that this is an “unprecedented” decision. Guterres: the work he carries out is “essential.” Also in focus is the headquarters, expropriated to build new housing for settlers in East Jerusalem.
Milan () – Israel “has written the word end” to the presence of UNRWA in the country. With a lapidary phrase, the first rapporteur of the law that was voted last night in the Knesset – the Israeli Parliament -, Yulia Malinovsky, commented on the decision to ban the UN Agency for the aid and protection of Palestinian refugees in the Middle East. A controversial decision that has already provoked criticism from several international foreign ministries and calls for the decision to be reconsidered by activist groups, because it risks exacerbating a humanitarian situation that is already collapsing in Gaza. To support the vote, the representative published a post in which she says “here are your UNRWA colleagues who kidnapped the body of Yonatan Samerano on October 7”, in reference to the Hamas attack in which more than 1,200 people died and They kidnapped at least 251 hostages. “Yesterday – he concludes – we did a minimum of justice to Yonatan’s parents.” In reality, the images seen in the video have not been verified and Israel itself has not provided certain evidence about the (alleged) participation of 19 members of UNRWA in the attack, an organization that has nearly 30,000 employees. On the other hand, the same agency has fired nine of them for alleged irregularities, although that has not been enough to calm things down.
Reactions to the vote
One of the first voices condemning the Knesset’s decision – which has broad support among political leaders, starting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – has been UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini, who stated that it was a “unprecedented” decision. It is a measure, he goes on to say, “that opposes the Charter of the United Nations and violates Israel’s obligations in relation to international law.” The criticism, he explains, is justified by the very serious humanitarian emergency that exists in the Strip due to the war that Israel launched in response to the Hamas attack and has turned Gaza into a “hell.” It will deprive 650,000 girls and boys of education, putting an entire generation at risk.” Especially since it is the main organization operating on the ground, which Israel has opposed and hindered for decades. In the last year, however , the attacks have intensified, until reaching yesterday’s parliamentary session, which would have written the last page. This conclusion, Lazzarini affirms, is the result of the “ongoing campaign”, aimed at discrediting her and “delegitimizing her role in the provision of assistance and human development services” to Palestinian refugees, until it ends up becoming a “collective punishment”.
The parliamentarians approved Malinovsky’s bill with 92 votes in favor and 10 against, out of a total of 120 deputies. Only those belonging to the Arab-Israeli community opposed it, while the rest of the deputies joined as a bloc, far surpassing the majority that supports Netanyahu. UNRWA has been providing aid to Palestinian refugees since 1949 and for decades has offered a range of services, such as healthcare and education, to millions of people in Gaza. Since the war broke out in the Strip, its presence on the ground has allowed it to become a crucial part in the (arduous) mission of bringing aid to the civilian population, in a framework of collaboration with the Israeli army that controls the two main crossings. entry borders. Around two and a half million Palestinians are registered with UNRWA in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Strip, and its work is “essential and irreplaceable”, as Ireland, Spain, Norway and Slovenia said, condemning in a joint statement the vote of the Knesset. The law, they denounce, “creates a very serious precedent for the work of the United Nations.” In turn, the United Kingdom says it is “extremely concerned” by a law that “threatens to make UNRWA’s essential work impossible for Palestinians.” Immediately after, similar condemnations followed from France, Germany and other countries such as Japan and South Korea in Asia, as well as from the UN itself, which speaks of a “scandalous law.” The United States, for its part, had put unnecessary pressure on Tel Aviv not to approve the law.
The general quarter in Israel’s sights
With this decision, which will come into force within 90 days, the Israeli Parliament will prevent the UN agency from operating in Gaza and the West Bank, with dramatic consequences for the population and the delivery of humanitarian aid. But in addition, the second law that was approved yesterday also cancels the tax exemptions that UNRWA has benefited from until now, deprives its members of diplomatic immunity and freezes all contact between the organization and officials of the Jewish State. Then there is the chapter regarding the headquarters in East Jerusalem. The Israeli government has decided to take over the entire structure, located in the area of Ma’a lot Dafna (Sheikh Jarrah) – to which it has recently cut off the supply of water and electricity – and demolish it to begin the construction of more than 1440 housing units, in line with the objectives of colonial expansion.
Until now, the headquarters has functioned as an administrative and management center for activities, but in the near future it would return to the direct control of the Israel Land Authority (ILA) and the project is already in the preparatory study stage. Furthermore, in the last year the headquarters has often been the scene of demonstrations and protests by families of kidnapped people or relatives of IDF soldiers killed in the fighting in Gaza, who clamor for it to be “closed down.” News of the requisition of the building and the expropriation of the land had already circulated in the recent past, and yesterday’s vote aims to further reinforce Israel’s expansionist project in the occupied territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Dan Iloz, a Likud deputy, told Israel Hayom that “the expropriation of land in Jerusalem is an important step, but not sufficient” and denounced UNRWA as “a focus of terrorism disguised as humanitarian.”
UNRWA: an essential presence
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has recalled that the work carried out by UNRWA is “essential” and that its cancellation will have “devastating consequences for Palestinian refugees.” For this reason, he addresses Israel to draw its attention to the “obligations” derived from the Charter and international law. The head of UN diplomacy also announces his intention to raise the issue in the general assembly and reiterates once again that “there is no alternative to UNRWA.” The agency is made up of about 30,000 employees throughout the Middle East, where it operates not only in the West Bank and Gaza, but also in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. Of them, 13,000 people are concentrated in humanitarian, health and educational assistance work in the Strip, and constitute a presence – and a workforce – that is practically impossible to replace in a few months in a context of devastating war like the one that is being fought. in the region.
Throughout the Middle East – the work it carries out in dozens of Palestinian refugee camps is essential – it assists almost six million Palestinian refugees, of whom 1.7 million are in Gaza and some 870 thousand between the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Together with the Red Crescent, this year it took charge of the distribution in the Strip of almost all of the aid sent by the United Nations, as well as carrying out on the ground – to cite only the most recent example – the campaign massive vaccination against polio for 640 thousand children. In the Palestinian enclave – which on several occasions has been defined by activists and NGOs as an “open-air prison” even before the war – UNRWA has about 180 schools, which in recent months have been forced to interrupt their activities. and have become shelters for displaced people.
In 12 months, UNRWA has carried out hundreds of thousands of interventions to help families in the Strip, from food distribution to medical care. But its structures have not been spared from the war either and in some cases have been the target of attacks. According to the latest report published by the UN agency on its website, since the beginning of the war, 464 incidents have been reported that affected the facilities and the people inside them, of which 74 episodes refer to interference. of military forces in the facilities. At least 190 facilities were hit by ammunition or were subject to intervention by armed agents. UNRWA estimates that, in total, 563 internally displaced people who had taken refuge in its facilities died and at least 1,790 were injured.
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