DaysofPal- Since the start of its war on the Gaza Strip, there has been a systematic plan by the Israeli occupation to intensify its persecution of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Palestinian territories.
This has involved targeting UNRWA institutions and employees and, most recently, approving a draft law banning the agency from operating in Israel.
At its weekly session on Monday, October 28, 2024, the Israeli Knesset approved two draft laws. The first bans UNRWA from operating in the occupied Palestinian territories and throughout the occupied city of Jerusalem, including the Shuafat camp, where the agency provides health and educational services to Palestinian refugees.
The second law prohibits any Israeli party from cooperating with the UN agency that documents the issue of Palestinian refugees and their right of return.
It also cancels the tax privileges, diplomatic immunity, and visas granted to its employees across all areas of the State of Israel.
The two proposals were supported by a majority of Knesset members, and this approval is final. The laws will take effect once certain formal procedures are completed, in what has been described as ‘a political and operational assassination of the political witness to the Palestinian Nakba.
Ali Huwaidi, head of the ‘302 Committee’ for the Defense of Palestinian Refugee Rights, stated that this decision is an open war on UNRWA and constitutes a political and moral assassination of the agency. He emphasized that it represents a blatant challenge to the international community that established UNRWA.
Huwaidi added that the occupation postponed voting on a third proposal that seeks to criminalize the UN agency and designate it as a terrorist organization. He anticipates that this proposal will be approved later, after a 90-day period during which the Knesset allows the government to implement the decision once it reaches the Council of Ministers.
He warned about the impact of these arbitrary decisions on the various services provided to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where residents have been enduring a tragic situation for over a year. He noted that the agency operates in eight camps in Gaza and 19 in the West Bank.
At a time when the need for the agency’s services is increasing among Palestinians, especially in Gaza—which has faced an unprecedented war of extermination since October 7, 2023—the occupation has prevented UNRWA from fulfilling its role in distributing humanitarian aid in the Strip.
“Ali Huwaidi views these steps as part of a systematic Israeli plan that is not merely a result of the war. He believes it aims to resolve the refugee issue by dismantling the UN agency that oversees their affairs and documents their catastrophe.”
An unprecedented historical rebellion
For his part, Fadel Al-Mahlwis, Director of the Department of Palestinian Refugee Affairs in Jordan, affirmed that the decision represents an unprecedented historical rebellion against the international organization’s calls for the necessity of returning refugees to their lands.
Al-Mahlwis stated that the legal targeting of UNRWA in Israel coincides with the systematic destruction of refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, which is part of the ongoing war of extermination that has persisted for over a year.
He explained that the existence of UNRWA as a political entity representing the refugee issue, along with the presence of the camps, serves as evidence that the Nakba is still alive.
This is something that Israel and its supporting countries do not want. Consequently, we are witnessing an unprecedented escalation in efforts to pursue and erase everything that affirms the legitimacy of this issue.
Al-Mahlwis stated that the Israeli goal centers on resolving the refugee issue, which is a fundamental aspect for the Palestinian people.
He noted that the acceptance of the occupying state into the United Nations was linked to the return of refugees. Consequently, Israel has begun planning to target this issue by expelling and displacing Palestinians from their land.
Warning of the consequences of the decision
In response to the decision, which has drawn widespread condemnation from Palestinians and the international community, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stated that the vote against the agency is unprecedented and sets a dangerous precedent. He emphasized that it contradicts the UN Charter and violates Israel’s obligations under international law.
He described the Knesset vote as ‘the latest in the ongoing campaign to discredit the agency and delegitimize its role in providing humanitarian aid and development services to Palestinian refugees.
He stressed that these laws will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza, where people have been enduring absolute hell for over a year.
Lazzarini described the occupation laws as ‘nothing less than collective punishment,’ emphasizing that they ‘will not strip the Palestinians of their refugee status, as this status is protected by another UN General Assembly resolution until a just and lasting solution to the plight of the Palestinians is achieved.
UNRWA was established in the aftermath of the Palestinian Nakba in 1948, following Resolution 302 issued by the United Nations General Assembly on December 8, 1949, with the aim of providing direct relief programs to approximately 6 million Palestinian refugees residing in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
UNRWA began its operations on May 1, 1950, to handle the issue of Palestinian refugees, where the General Assembly has repeatedly renewed the agency’s mandate, most recently extending it until June 30, 2026.
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