Israel’s ban on the UN agency serving refugees is due to be implemented on Thursday
Two laws, which are due to be implemented on Thursday, were passed by the Israel i Knesset in October. They ban the operation of Unrwa on Israel i land – including East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in a move not recognised internationally – and prohibit Israel i officials from contacting the agency. Unrwa provides aid to Palestinians in“Its going to be catastrophic for the Palestinian people that we serve and depend on the agency for their survival,” said Touma.
As Israel controls all access to Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Unrwa and organisations working with the agency will no longer be able to import, deliver and distribute food, medicine, fuel and other supplies. Unrwa schools and health services could be forced to close. Multiple UN and international agencies contribute humanitarian supplies for Gaza but, according to Touma, “Unrwa has the best distribution system, so other agencies depend on Unrwa. If Unrwa goes down, the whole aid structure goes down.”
Unrwa’s Gaza staff has shrunk dramatically during the war, from 13,000 to 5,000. She said 270 employees have been killed, some left for Egypt, and teachers are not working because schools are closed. Currently, staff are involved in “emergency response, management of shelters, distribution of food and healthcare”.
Unrwa cannot go to court over the ban as it is a United Nations agency, Touma said. “After the war, commissions of inquiry could look into all the violations against Unrwa. Two Israel human rights organisations – one Jewish and one Palestinian – have challenged the ban.”
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