DaysofPal- The Hamas Movement has denounced a recent decision by Israeli Knesset as a serious escalation after the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee approved a bill to cut essential services, including water and electricity, to the offices of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
In a statement, Hamas described the move as part of a systematic and criminal assault aimed at undermining the agency’s humanitarian role for the Palestinian people.
Hamas called on the international community, the United Nations, and its agencies to assume their responsibilities, halt Israeli targeting of UNRWA, and ensure the agency can continue providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees, particularly amid the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The legislation, reported by the Hebrew-language newspaper Maariv, consolidates three previous proposals to prohibit UNRWA operations in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Under the proposed law, supplying UNRWA-owned properties with electricity and water would be illegal, while the state would be empowered to seize such properties to prevent future operations.
The committee approved the bill unanimously, with six votes in favor and none against.
The bill results from the merger of two proposals submitted by Knesset members Yulia Malinovsky and Limor Son-Hermelk, alongside a government initiative, into a single legislative text.
Observers note that this development is part of an escalating campaign against UNRWA, following earlier Knesset approvals on October 28, 2024, targeting the agency’s work.
The Israeli occupation has accused some UNRWA staff of involvement in the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation on October 7, 2023, a charge the agency and the UN have firmly denied.
The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the Knesset committee’s vote, describing it as a blatant violation of international law and an infringement of the privileges and immunities of United Nations organizations.
Hamas warned that the law could severely disrupt UNRWA’s ability to provide life-saving assistance to Palestinian refugees, intensifying the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
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