Israeli parliamentarians approved a law banning UNRWA from operating in Israel.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) will continue distributing aid to the Gaza Strip despite an Israeli ban that will come into effect at the end of January. This was announced on Wednesday by the head of the agency, Philippe Lazzarini, at a meeting of the Global Alliance for the implementation of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
The agency provides assistance to millions of Palestinians in various areas
In October, Israeli parliamentarians approved a law banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and stopping the cooperation of Israeli authorities with UNRWA. The agency provides aid to millions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Israel has long criticized the agency, accusing it of anti-Israel bias.
Lazzarini stated that the agency will continue its work. “Local UNRWA staff will remain and continue to provide emergency assistance and, where possible, education and basic health care,” he said.
The head of UNRWA says the lack of communication between the agency and Israeli officials will make UNRWA’s work in the Gaza Strip even more dangerous.
Nepalese UNRWA staff without visas will not be able to enter the territory of the Palestinian enclave, and those who are now there will have to leave, Lazzarini explained.
“Continuing to work will mean considerable personal risk for our Palestinian colleagues,” he said. The reason, he said, is the extremely hostile work environment Israel is creating with its disregard for international law and its harsh disinformation campaign against the agency.
UNRWA is considered the foundation of humanitarian operations for the Palestinians. Israel claims its employees were involved in the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war. A series of investigations found “problems related to neutrality” at UNRWA, but stressed that Israel had not provided evidence for its allegations.
